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Marmoulak (film)
Encyclopedia
The Lizard is a 2004
Iran
ian comedy
directed by Kamal Tabrizi
.
Although a comedy, the film makes serious points about the clergy, religion, society in Iran, and life in general. Due to the film's perceived attacks towards clerics, the movie was banned from theatres in Iran after only being on screen for one month. A bootleg DVD of Marmoulak with English subtitles is widely available online.
). At the very beginning of the film, he is arrest
ed and charged with armed robbery, a crime
that is revealed over the course of the movie that he did not commit. Nonetheless, he is sentenced to life in prison, and is met at the jailhouse by a cruel warden, who says that his intention is to "make Reza a person," and to make him repent so that he will be accepted into heaven
, "by force," if necessary.
Reza is very restless at the prison, to the point where he steals medicine from the infirmary with which to commit suicide. He is unable to go through with the act, however, and is stopped by his cellmate, who in the course of fighting with Reza causes the medicine bottle to break and cut open his arm. Reza is sent to the hospital to recover, where he meets a cleric, also staying in the hospital, also by the name of Reza. During his stay, the two become friends, and Reza Marmoulak overcomes his dislike of the Islamic clergy to accept the mullah after he is told a profound statement which stays with him for the rest of the film - "There are as many paths to reach God as there are people in the world."
Before he is discharged back into the prison, Reza Marmoulak steals the cleric's clothing, and impersonating him, is able to escape the prison and contact one of his friends, who tells him to go to a small border village and contact a man who will give him a fake passport
to cross the border with. In the meantime, the warden is informed that Reza has escaped, and seeing this as a personal blemish on his record, pursues the criminal to the border village. Arriving by train at the village, Reza is taken in by the villagers who believe he is their new mullah at the mosque.
The remainder of the film documents Reza's attempts to get in contact with the criminal underworld to obtain his false passport, while the police pursue him at the behest of the warden, all while Reza tries to avoid tipping off the villagers to his actions. In the course of this, he becomes something of a hero in the eyes of the villagers, who misinterpret his attempts to track down his false passport as his visiting the homes of poor people and giving them charity. These actions continue draw the praise of the villagers, convincing those who have abandoned faith in their religion to come to the mosque once again to hear the sermon
s of Reza Marmoulak, most of which are derived from his brief contact with the cleric in the prison's hospital.
At the end of the film, Reza is finally tracked down by the warden, and on the night of a religious celebration at the mosque, he is arrested. He hands over his robes to a small boy who had watched him over the course of the entire film, and goes peacefully with the warden and the police officer back to the prison in Tehran. The film ends with a shot inside the mosque, slowly pulling away as a man sings in the background, as the many prayer-goers in the mosque who had come to see Reza Marmoulak turned slowly to look at an unknown object outside of the field of view. The frame is frozen, and the same words spoken by the mullah in the hospital are heard spoken by Reza Marmoulak once again: "There are as many paths to reach God as there are people in the world."
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Kamal Tabrizi
Kamal Tabrizi
Kamal Tabrizi is an Iranian film director. He was born in Tehran . A newly released picture shows that he was as a photographer & reporter among the 1979 hostage takers at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.- Filmography as a director :-External links:...
.
Although a comedy, the film makes serious points about the clergy, religion, society in Iran, and life in general. Due to the film's perceived attacks towards clerics, the movie was banned from theatres in Iran after only being on screen for one month. A bootleg DVD of Marmoulak with English subtitles is widely available online.
Plot
Reza Marmoulak, the main character, is a thief known in criminal circles for his ability to scale the walls of buildings (from which he derives his name, "Marmoulak", or "lizard" in PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
). At the very beginning of the film, he is arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed and charged with armed robbery, a crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
that is revealed over the course of the movie that he did not commit. Nonetheless, he is sentenced to life in prison, and is met at the jailhouse by a cruel warden, who says that his intention is to "make Reza a person," and to make him repent so that he will be accepted into heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, "by force," if necessary.
Reza is very restless at the prison, to the point where he steals medicine from the infirmary with which to commit suicide. He is unable to go through with the act, however, and is stopped by his cellmate, who in the course of fighting with Reza causes the medicine bottle to break and cut open his arm. Reza is sent to the hospital to recover, where he meets a cleric, also staying in the hospital, also by the name of Reza. During his stay, the two become friends, and Reza Marmoulak overcomes his dislike of the Islamic clergy to accept the mullah after he is told a profound statement which stays with him for the rest of the film - "There are as many paths to reach God as there are people in the world."
Before he is discharged back into the prison, Reza Marmoulak steals the cleric's clothing, and impersonating him, is able to escape the prison and contact one of his friends, who tells him to go to a small border village and contact a man who will give him a fake passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
to cross the border with. In the meantime, the warden is informed that Reza has escaped, and seeing this as a personal blemish on his record, pursues the criminal to the border village. Arriving by train at the village, Reza is taken in by the villagers who believe he is their new mullah at the mosque.
The remainder of the film documents Reza's attempts to get in contact with the criminal underworld to obtain his false passport, while the police pursue him at the behest of the warden, all while Reza tries to avoid tipping off the villagers to his actions. In the course of this, he becomes something of a hero in the eyes of the villagers, who misinterpret his attempts to track down his false passport as his visiting the homes of poor people and giving them charity. These actions continue draw the praise of the villagers, convincing those who have abandoned faith in their religion to come to the mosque once again to hear the sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s of Reza Marmoulak, most of which are derived from his brief contact with the cleric in the prison's hospital.
At the end of the film, Reza is finally tracked down by the warden, and on the night of a religious celebration at the mosque, he is arrested. He hands over his robes to a small boy who had watched him over the course of the entire film, and goes peacefully with the warden and the police officer back to the prison in Tehran. The film ends with a shot inside the mosque, slowly pulling away as a man sings in the background, as the many prayer-goers in the mosque who had come to see Reza Marmoulak turned slowly to look at an unknown object outside of the field of view. The frame is frozen, and the same words spoken by the mullah in the hospital are heard spoken by Reza Marmoulak once again: "There are as many paths to reach God as there are people in the world."
Release
This film was released 2 months after production was complete. The director had problems getting the movie released as many clerics found the movie offensive. The movie was released during Norooz holidays in Iran, and had a very short, but successful one month run. Due to the film's short run, and massive demand for tickets, many were not able to see the movie, and were forced to view bootleg copies made by people who had sneaked cell phones or camcorders into movie theatersCast
- Parviz Parastui (As "Reza Marmoulak")
- Bahram Ibrahimi
- Shahrokh Foroutanian
- Farideh Sepah Mansour
- Maedeh Tahmasebi
- Ali Abedini
- Rana AzadivarRana Azadivar-Filmography:* About Elly * Khake ashena * Parkway * Havoo * Zagros * Marmoulak...
- Bahram Ebrahimi
- Mehran Rajabi
- Reza Saeedi
- Naqi Seif-Jamali