Although Baran is a love story at its heart, the movie is largely an intimate portrayal of daily routine of Afghan-Iranian workers at a construction site on the outskirts of Teheran. Although I am no connoisseur of cinema, I feel comfortable claiming that the film depicts, perhaps the most gorgeous shots of something as bland as a construction site. The success of eminent auteur, Majid Majidi lies in taking moments of natural, realistic candor between constructions workers and juxtaposing them with magical, lyrical moments of embryonic love. I hope art lovers don't simply praise the film for its art form relegating the underlying immigrant stories and its social consequences to the back of their mind. That would be sheer waste of Majidi's diligently crafted masterpiece. Migrant workers within India are in the millions, each with a unique story. Although few dedicated journalist have brought their emotions to the mainstream, it is rueful that their stories are only captured by a single Indian film maker in the largest and still burgeoning Indian film industry. Even if one were to consider only the angle of love story, it is sad that despite the deluge of films on love stories, hardly any Indian film weaves one with as much maturity as Baran does.
If you desire moments of ethereal beauty, go watch BARAN (Available on Netflix)
PS: The writer of this blog grew up in India and is writing with Indian audience in mind.
