In the Name of God
For My Father
This is me.
Our house is near Valad Abad in Karaj.
On a field without water or electricity.
My father has built a half-finished house.
Nothing in it is right!
We don't have a bathroom and
the loo is in the yard.
Our yard doesn't have tiles.
My granny always curses dad because
he's brought us here to a ruined place.
Granny is not dad's real mother.
She is his stepmother.
My dad did it because the doctor told him.
My dad has asthma.
Doctor told him he must live
somewhere with good weather.
We all have a name when we fight.
My big brother is called Chambalghooz!
And the other is Mooshkamal!
And they call me Shelakhteh,
meaning tousled.
And sometimes Cotton Field
for my dishevelled hair!
Chaghaleh Badoom is the tell-tale!
My late mother gave birth
to us one after another...
...because she was Yazd.
Yazdi people want to have
more and more children.
BREATH
- I'll tell granny!
- What you'll tell?
Go away!
Shelakhteh!
Take it!
You are nuts! You talk to yourself.
My God!
I didn't do anything.
Chambalghooz started it.
May God kill you!
Your father will come and sort you out!
Tidy up!
What should I do with you?
Where did you go? Wait!
Granny! Chambalghooz started it.
My God!
What should I do with you?
Wait!
A little further away behind our house,
there are pear, cherry, and apple groves.
There are groves as far
as the end of the sky!
They reach Valad Abad too.
Our school is there.
Granny says our school is 100 leagues away!
She means it is far.
She's told my father he must
take us there and bring back.
My father is a driver
of Bella Shoes factory.
- Dad, when you will take us to the sea?
- I will, darling.
This time we go on pilgrimage
to Imam Reza's shrine,
I'll take you from the sea
road and you'll see the sea.
- Close the door.
- Bye, dad!
My dad always coughs.
He's been to many doctors
but didn't get well.
- Look at that car!
- It is our car.
He's been to a herbal doctor too. To
all doctors, but didn't get well.
My auntie and her family have come to
Karaj because Habib's cousin has died.
They live in Yazd.
My aunt's name is Bisakin.
Habib is her husband,
and Taher is their son.
- How is Seyyed Morteza?
- Fine.
Thank God. Did their cow give birth?
Yes.
Welcome.
Get up. Change your chador.
It is ominous for a woman to wear
black chador near her delivery.
What can I do? I have to.
Come on!
Run!
Those with asthma mustn't smell flowers,
or wear perfume.
I never wear perfume.
But you eat fried food. You
can't stop your gluttony!
- What happened to Ghafoor?
- It is nothing.
He'll be like this
whenever he isn't careful.
Take it away! I'm dying!
I want to cast away the evil eye.
Bring the spray, darling.
Put it into my mouth.
Husky voice!
- Why are you late?
- I went to drink water.
Give Noroozi a big hand.
She got 20 in dictation.
Clap for Iraj Partovi too.
He got 20 in dictation.
Don't!
OK, pick it. You can't!
Stand back!
Wow! Animation!
Sit back.
It isn't good for the eye.
- Wow!
- Quiet!
He is 8 years old.
The next drawing was done
by Parviz, 9 years old.
This man is a voyeur! He
is leering all the time!
Who?
In there!
This?
He doesn't see us!
He doesn't? He does!
- He's staring right into my eyes!
- No, he doesn't see you.
Now kids! Send us your
drawings at this address.
Why did you turn it off?
I wanted to write the address
to send a drawing to the TV.
That is enough. The battery will run out.
Go to your studies.
Must be off, the damn thing!
It shows singing and dancing
and you don't know...
...where your father has brought it from.
The Alien's house!
I don't know why you hate the poor people?
You call them Alien all the time.
When I was homeless in the
streets, they helped me.
When I was a coolie's help, they
took me home and gave me food.
You must answer for that
in the other world.
You worked for them 100 times more instead.
You did everything for them.
You love Aliens!
I am your stepmother with
a foot in the grave,
but look after your children.
Have the jerks ever asked how you
were doing since your wife died?
Give me the spray.
When you were a coolie's help, I
wasn't your father's wife yet.
What are you saying?
Shelakhteh!
Comb your dishevelled hair every
morning so I won't be hurt so much!
Granny is right. My hair
is always dishevelled.
My classmate has straight hair.
Just like in films.
He surely hates dishevelled girls.
What the heck! My grades are good!
I don't have time to comb my hair
because I must only study...
...to become an asthma doctor
and treat my father's asthma.
Besides, I already know all
alphabet to the end of the book.
Our third top student is Ali Mirza.
His GPA is 18.5.
Clap for him!
The second top student is Iraj Partovi.
No problem, you had a little
mistake in dictation.
Work harder for the next exam.
Clap for him!
He is much disciplined too.
Who is our top student?
Bahar Noroozi! Give her a big hand!
Well done!
Granny!
Granny!
What? You got me worried!
I became the top student!
Damn girl! I didn't understand what I did!
I came out before washing myself!
I thought something's happened!
May God give you some brain!
Right then, the loyal dog of the house
that was sitting outside started to bark.
Watch your foot!
Read slowly! I missed it.
I'm not your maid! Write faster!
Look, dad!
Quiet!
Don't be rude!
Learn from her.
Her grade is lower than you and
she's telling your dictation.
Write, damn you!
I gave a bowl of eggs to your
teacher yesterday to pass you.
If only I get you somewhere!
I'll thrash you!
- Dad!
- Quiet!
If I get up, I'll make you black and blue!
I must take from these kids and myself and
give to the teachers to give you the mark.
- Write!
- I don't want to!
Get up!
Get up, kid!
Bring my jacket.
Wait.
You are the top student?
Why do you fight your brother?
This is your prize.
A boat?
It is for boys!
In the past things were
only for boys or girls.
What boats we had! Magnificent!
You pour paraffin oil in it, light
its wig, and it moves on water.
I love you!
Listen, mother. See if it is good.
We'll come to Yazd in Muharram.
I mean you will, not me.
Afsar says to save some
pomegranate paste for us.
Hyacinth, daffodil, and
clover Forget me not forever!
Is it good?
Dad, put your pencil behind
your ear like the carpenters!
It doesn't go there. I'll put it in my ear!
Good?
- What is it?
- A boat.
I know. I have a better one.
- Put it in front of your bike.
- I'm not nuts.
It's no use to me.
Miss? It is yours.
What is it?
A boat. My dad's bought it for me.
How pretty!
But you mustn't give a
present to someone else.
Keep it. Well done, darling.
I have a good present for you.
Don't give it to anybody.
You must wear them to school.
Thank God! She's come to!
My dear girl!
I love you!
Drink! Don't fear.
Drink, dear.
- Our plots are behind the brook.
- Where?
Upper than our house or lower?
Upper. Near Hajji Khankar's orchard.
I know where it is. He
means the apricot grove.
We were going to the farm in the morning.
I saw her in the water. She was weak.
And the dogs were barking around her.
My God! God had mercy on her.
It was a close call.
I love you!
Thank you.
Granny!
Bahar had gone to Nader's
piggybank last night.
She was cutting it with a knife!
Don't beat her. She is only a child.
I was very happy granny
slapped Chaghaleh Badoom!
I wanted to tell her she was
put down nice and proper!
When that man and woman left,
I wanted to stay with them...
...and become their child all my life.
My dad said he'd tell me the story of Hassan
the Baldie and the Shining Gem tonight.
I don't like Chambalghooz and Mooshkamal
and Chaghaleh Badoom listen too,
but I can't do anything!
Careful! Watch the lamp!
How far did we go last night?
When they walked for 2 days and nights.
Yes, you're very clever.
They walked for 2 days and nights and
reached the top of the mountain.
They see a big pond on top of the mountain.
There were very tall trees around the pond.
They suddenly see a
beautiful girl in the pond.
She was as beautiful as the full moon and
she was chained in the middle of the pond.
She was crying.
And her tears fell into the
pond and became shining gems.
The girl tells Hassan the Baldie and the princess,
"I am a girl from the land of fairies and the jinn.
The wicked Black Demon has chained me here.
You must save me."
And she was crying all the time.
Hassan and the princess look
at one another and pity her.
They decide to save her.
Don't pick your nose! You made me sick!
I hope you die!
They save her.
Don't rub your hand on the carpet!
The fairy becomes very happy.
She says, "You saved me. Can I
ask you another favour too?"
They say yes.
The fairy tells the princess,
"My father has asthma.
Will you do a magic or
something to cure him?"
The princess says, "Yes,
but there is a condition.
Your hair mustn't be unkempt any more.
Then if you close your eyes at New Year and
make a wish, God will grant your wish."
Sit down.
Kids, I won't come to your
class as of tomorrow.
I must go from this school.
Why, Miss?
I'll come only tomorrow.
Then I won't come again.
Maybe she doesn't want
anybody to see her hair.
We'll miss you, Miss.
Miss? Will you not go?
I must do something big for Miss Qahremani.
Is it time to come to school?
Where were you?
Don't you have a class?
Go to your class!
Hurry!
Go!
Hurry!
We couldn't find it. No problem!
When I grow up and become an asthma doctor,
I'll make my dad well and buy
a necklace with my money,
and find Miss Qahremani,
and give it to her.
Tomorrow is the New Year.
Dad warmed the water in the barrel
and washed Nader and Kamal.
Dad washes Chambalghooz
and Mooshkamal tenderly.
Good for them!
Then he got granny, Chaghaleh Badoom,
and me on Bella Shoes lorry,
and took us to Valad Abad public bath.
Granny doesn't like the bathroom at home.
She says you can't clean yourself.
She washes Chaghaleh
Badoom and me very hard.
Sometimes she pours boiling water on us.
- I wish dad bought Atlasi chocolate.
- No, zoo biscuits.
No, only sweets!
No! Sweets are bad for the teeth.
No, lollipop!
Quiet, damn you all!
- We are hungry.
- We're very hungry.
- Why your father didn't come?
- He's gone to uncle to watch film.
Jackass! Who watches film at New Year?
If he isn't at home at New Year,
he'll be out the whole year.
God! Finish it!
I'm sure he's gone to the Alien's house.
Miserable! What I should do with you!
We don't have time.
Dad's back!
- Hello, dad!
- Hello!
You are very late.
Hurry! It is the New Year soon.
You can't breathe, dad? My
hair isn't dishevelled.
What is it to your hair?
Take them inside.
Run, guys! It is the New Year!
Put them here. Go inside.
It is almost New Year.
Ghafoor! Where've you been?
Hurry!
Ghafoor!
Hurry! It is the New Year.
My God!
Don't panic! It's nothing.
I had a fight.
I'm fine. Don't fear.
Hurry, kid!
Hurry!
Breathe!
Don't panic.
I was at the seller's. This
guy came to buy 150 gr nuts.
The nut seller was an old man
and wasn't paying attention.
He tore off the picture of the crown
prince from the children's study book.
He made a cone and poured the seeds in it.
That jerk got upset.
Drink! My God!
- Dad!
- It's nothing, dear.
That jerk kicked the seller's stand
and started to tangle with him.
The old man was alone and I backed him up.
He called his friend.
I thought I'd beat the two yobs.
I wanted to bring the chain from the
lorry when I slipped and fell down...
...because I'd folded the back of my shoe.
And they thrashed me. I beat them too.
It is nothing. I was beaten a little!
Give me an AXAR. I have a headache.
May God damn them!
I told you many times not to
fold the back of your shoe!
Is it good you were beaten?
Thank you.
You didn't get angry so soon in the past.
Gold in the past!
It calmed people down.
Gold is not gold now!
- I forgot!
- What?
God!
I forgot to wish at New Year
my dad's asthma gets well.
Dad, will you tell us the
story of King Jamshid?
Please, dad!
- No, Hassan the Baldie!
- We've heard it 100 times!
Why you haven't combed your hair again?
Let's go in.
Why don't you comb your hair?
You know what'd happened?
People had held a rally.
They shouted, "Down with Shah!
Long live Khomeini!"
Down with shah?
Don't say that in front of the kids.
They'll say that in school
and they'll give us hell.
I wasn't saying it. People did.
Granny, what's the meaning of rally?
- It means rally!
- What does it mean?
It means rally!
They used to say,
"Where are you going? To rally!
Where you're not going? To rally!"
I didn't ask granny what 'longling' meant,
because I knew it meant
'to make something long'!
Like the tailor shop beside
our school in Valad Abad.
It makes the tails long! I
think two girls live there.
The soldiers started to shoot.
Then the people ran away. The
soldiers ran after them.
I thought they might see the
factory's car in the alley.
I got on and drove off.
May God have mercy on Bisafa's brother!
My uncle?
My late mother's name was Bibi Safa.
But Yazdi people say it
fast and it becomes Bisafa.
Her brother, Seyyed Hossein, is my uncle.
He is studying theology in Qom.
Whenever we go to Qom, I take a
few of my uncle's books secretly.
He has many books in Yazd too.
My uncle doesn't have
any book for children.
All of them are big and hard!
Only his books about
prophets are good for me.
And Dastan Rastan and Blood Seller.
In Blood Seller, there was a
poor man who sold his blood...
...to get money from people
and buy food with the money.
I pity him very much.
Then the man sells so much of his blood...
...and buys food with its money
that he is nearly dying.
Then his brother finds him
and takes him to the doctor.
The doctor says he must
have a lot of blood.
He gets well and they go home together.
We haven't finished the alphabet yet,
but Noroozi has read such a thick book.
Clap for her!
OK, that's enough.
I've drawn a beautiful picture too and
sent it to Children Programme on TV.
Wash hard or I'll wash
you with boiling water!
Good!
Go!
Don't move!
Take it.
Go!
The Aliens live downtown
in a dilapidated garage.
They have strange names. My dad
takes us to their house too.
One of them is called Izra'il.
Granny says their names are scary!
- Hello.
- Hello.
Hello.
Congratulations!
They have a chief, Babri Khan. He
doesn't have moustache or beard.
Bahar?
How are you?
Do you study well?
Yes. She's got 20 in all subjects.
- She tells dictation to Nader.
- Good.
You have a beautiful boat.
Who has bought it for you?
My dad bought it for her
when she became top student.
Well done!
Will you give it to me to sail around?
No?
Give it, darling.
Ghafoor!
When Bahar grows up, we
must marry her to Latif.
They match well.
It's not possible, Babri Khan.
I'll tell you why later.
She is my own daughter,
my brother's daughter.
- Why is it impossible?
- I'll tell you later.
Ghafoor!
Bring everybody to the Takiyeh this year.
All tribes have come. The
Aliens will all come.
We have a real mourning this Muharram.
God bless!
Mother?
You don't drink tea?
I am your mother?
You are old as my father!
Ghafoor, why madam doesn't approve of us?
She does.
It is offering for God and
begging Imam Hossein!
Drink!
Do you want money?
Don't bother.
Here.
Go and buy yourselves whatever you want.
- I won't set foot in their Takiyeh.
- Why not?
You heard me!
Because you don't know where
their money comes from.
My! They work.
They have a garage and minibuses.
They work and make money.
They used to be pedlars,
selling skewer and fortune.
How they settled down and became rich?
As soon as you see them, you
dress and look like them.
I just put on their shirt.
What are you eating?
Citric acid granule.
Don't! Your belly will be pierced!
Throw it away!
Do it, dear, when granny says so.
Don't be stubborn. There is a good girl!
Granny?
Why dad doesn't bring Bella
Shoes lorry home any more?
They have fired him. He isn't in the mood.
I don't know what it was to you to do that.
He was my friend, my colleague.
So what?
You must write 'martyr' on his obit?
To get from us this little money?
What was it to you?
Thank God they didn't arrest you.
Sit quietly!
Bring the jug, kid!
Hell with me, what have they done?
How you're going to feed them?
My God! Ghafoor!
Ghafoor!
I've made cutlets. Where are you going?
May God kill me and rid me of you!
He's going to the Aliens!
Kamal, bring the bread. Take
a morsel to your father.
Ghafoor!
Whenever my dad leaves home,
he doesn't walk like Samson.
He stoops.
I think he's forgotten
he's grown his hair long.
What did I say?
My dad likes films very much.
Especially Samson and Delilah.
Samson was a hero with long hair.
He could beat everybody and defeat
them because of his long hair.
The enemies wanted to know
why he was so strong.
They send a beautiful woman to Samson.
He falls in love with her and tells
her the secret to his strength.
Then the enemies cut his hair
one night when he was asleep.
Samson was not strong any
more and was defeated.
No way. It must grow longer!
May God put a little wisdom in your head!
Now my dad lets his hair
grow so he will be strong.
I'll stay here for some time.
When the dust settles, I'll return to Qom.
What if SAVAK agents raid here?
They aren't idle to come
to the middle of nowhere.
Ghafoor has brought you somewhere
SAVAK agents will never come.
Don't worry.
- That's the reason I built a house here.
- God does nothing without a reason.
Here.
- Me!
- Me!
Thank you. It's very delicious.
Bon appetite.
- Will you give me a book, uncle?
- No, because you can't keep books.
You tore up any book I gave you.
- Please!
- No!
Hossein! Come give a hand!
Don't touch the books, Bahar.
Where are you going?
Take the dishes to the brook and wash them.
Come back quickly.
The book Human Sellers of the
Twentieth Century is very hard.
I can't read many of its words.
It is the story of a rich girl, Badri.
She goes out with her friend, Mali.
But some strangers kidnap them in a car.
The thieves are beating them in the
car and taking them to another town.
Damn you!
You've been here for 3 hours.
What are you doing?
You didn't wash the dishes?
I'll show you!
Stop!
I'll catch you in the end!
Everybody is waiting for
you to go to Aliens' home!
Thank you.
How much?
Thanks.
Granny, you said you wouldn't
eat the Aliens' food!
Is it their food, naughty?
It is the 1st of Muharram.
It is Imam Hossein's food.
Eat!
Hurry!
- Have you seen Babri Khan's horse?
- No.
It is for the Takiyeh. Our
tribe love that horse.
Its name is Niyaz.
They say it goes to the field
in the morning at Ashura,
and returns at night with crying eyes.
- Telling the truth?
- She is fibbing!
It is the truth. I swear
to Babri Khan's head.
I think the tears of Babri Khan's
horse are the Shining Gems,
because granny says Babri Khan is rich.
Maybe he's become rich this way.
When they brought Babri
Khan's horse at sunset,
I looked into its eyes well.
There was no tear.
Surely its Shining Gems
have fallen on the field.
Oh, they hurt Badri very much!
The bad guys beat her and her friend.
They took them to Qazvin
and then to another town.
Badri and Mali cried.
Some parts of their bodies were bruised.
But the kidnappers had no mercy.
They beat them all the time.
I wanted to be in Badri's place.
Because the thieves said
Badri was beautiful.
But I didn't want to be in her
place when they were beating her!
The thieves took Badri to a
far-away place to a big house.
There was a fat woman there.
They called her Boss.
Damn you!
What are you doing in the loo for 3 hours?
Are you talking to yourself again?
Come on out!
- I fell asleep.
- And I believed you!
Come in.
The Boss took Badri to a man in the
party of the rich people one night.
He gave her a cherry, but Badri
dropped it and broke it.
I've never seen a cherry break.
They smash but don't break.
Are you here? You're reading a book?
Granny told you not to read books.
I'll tell granny! She'll sort you out!
Let's tell granny. Run!
So, every clock has two hands.
The bigger one shows the minute
and the smaller on the hour.
For example, in the picture on the right,
it is 2:30.
What are you doing?
Get up!
Go to the blackboard.
Stand here.
Indeed!
What books a brat is reading!
How old are you?
What grade are you?
Second.
What are you reading?
Get out!
Noroozi!
Come here. Where did you go?
I told you not to get far from school.
Didn't I?
Are you deaf?
What were you doing among the rubbish?
Hold your hand up.
The other!
Don't pull it back!
Go, stupid girl!
Go to your class!
Badri had a hard time.
She cries all nights.
The Boss is kind to Badri at first.
But when Badri doesn't listen to
her, she gets angry with her.
Every day someone comes and makes up Badri.
Then the Boss takes her to the
party of the rich and aristocrats,
and tells Badri to laugh with men.
I hate it when girls laugh loudly.
Nobody must see the teeth
of a dignified girl.
Why should she laugh? And loudly?
Only the corner of her lips
must stretch a little.
Like this!
I love you!
Damn you!
Badri says her fiance will
take revenge on the Boss.
Badri's fiance is looking
for her in every town.
Mali, Badri's friend, kills herself with a
few pieces of opium as big as chickpeas.
She eats them and dies. I must
be careful not to eat chickpea!
Granny, what do you want
to do with the chickpeas?
I'll pour them on my father's grave!
What do you do with chickpeas?
I'm going to cook meat stew.
I saw someone killed
herself with chickpeas!
She hanged herself with chickpeas?
She jumped into the chickpeas
and drowned herself?
How she killed herself with chickpeas?
See? She's gone nuts!
I told you many times not
to let her read books.
I love you!
Badri got weak and sick.
The Boss said she was
no use to her any more.
The Boss's men leave Badri in the ruins.
A good man finds her, takes her
home, and looks after her.
Then they write Badri's
name in the newspapers.
Her fiance comes.
Don't let her read so much.
She'll go crazy.
Many people did!
Don't you see her talking to herself?
It happens when you go
to the Aliens' house.
Badri is lying in bed. She can't move.
When she sees her fiance,
she tries to sit up.
Her fiance comes in. She sees him blurry.
Badri falls in the bed and dies.
The good man is standing at the door.
His eyes are filled with tears.
Finished!
May you lie in the graveyard!
She went nuts!
Granny is right.
You go crazy when you read books a lot.
We have come to Abrand
Abad in Yazd at Ashura.
Bibi Zamzam has a place for herself.
It is called Motbakh, meaning kitchen.
Seyyed Morteza, my grandfather,
brings firewood for her.
Bibi Zamzam speaks Yazdi in a heavy accent.
Granny doesn't understand
most of her words,
but she just nods and says,
"Yes, you are right."
There is a rachineh in Bibi Zamzam's yard.
Yazdi people call stairs 'rachineh'.
They call toilet 'khala', and good 'khash'.
I go up Bibi Zamzam's rachineh
and wave at Malekeh and Bibagom,
the neighbour's daughters,
from the balcony.
I say, "Hey, Malekeh! Hey, Bibagom!"
Hello!
I want to put on my best clothes,
without dishevelled hair,
or muddied clothes,
because people of Abrand
Abad like Tehrani girls.
- You tied wings nightingales!
- You tied wings nightingales!
- Whose soul you comfort?
- Whose soul you comfort?
- Whose soul and spirit you are?
- Whose soul and spirit you are?
Being an orphan is a pain without cure.
Being an orphan is a pain without cure.
Good, but you must sing
it more like a song.
- We are the two children of Moslem.
- Bahar!
My dear daughter. You have grown up.
You mustn't talk to Taher much.
It isn't proper.
Why?
You heard me. It isn't proper.
- Do it and don't ask questions.
- Sure.
A good girl mustn't be seen by a stranger.
They perform 'Shabih' in Abrand
Abad at Tasu'a and Ashura.
Tehrani people use the word
Ta'ziyeh instead of 'Shabih'.
It's something like passion play.
Taher, my cousin, performs in Shabih.
He plays the role of the
Two Children of Moslem,
the one Mr Kafi tells its story
with crying and singing.
His role is to be beaten
and cry and recite elegy.
Do you know what my mother told my father?
What?
She said, "The names of
Bahar daughter of Bisafa,
and Taher son of Bisakineh,
are written together."
What does it mean?
It means you'll marry when you grow up.
Damn you! You'll be crushed by the camel!
Granny sent me to her to learn the Quran.
Good.
You start from Verse 14.
Open your mouth and read clearly.
Look at me. What can you read?
- Al-Ikhlas Sura.
- What?
Al-Ikhlas.
We have snakes in our basement.
If you don't read well
or don't pay attention,
I'll throw you to the snakes! Got it?
Read well!
Why you didn't read it?
Move!
Read!
Read correctly!
Hurry!
Read!
Hey!
Didn't you hear how Zahra read?
Read!
Hurry!
"I know Ikhlas!" Everybody knows that!
Read!
I don't go to her class any more.
My grandfather, Seyyed Morteza in Yazd,
teaches me the Quran much better.
Well done!
Bravo!
I go to the field and look for a treasure.
I walk in the alleys near Miss Akram's
house and play with the children there.
I jump over a sleeping dog. I
don't want to go to Miss Akram.
Damn you! What are you doing here?
Idling in the alleys?
Wait!
If granny finds you, she'll
make you black and blue!
- What have I done?
- Granny went to Miss Akram.
She told her you haven't been
to her class for a week.
- Where do you go?
- What is it to you, nosy?
Granny!
Bahar locked herself in in the bathroom!
Open!
Open it!
Open or I'll break it!
I'll kill you!
I know what to do with you!
You were idling around?
Evil liar!
That's why you were scared when
I mentioned Miss Akram's name.
I made a mistake!
Granny!
She wanted to throw me into
the basement to snakes.
Let your father come back from Qom.
I'll tell him everything!
It is either your place
or mine in this house!
He always goes to the Aliens!
I formed a family for myself in the
bathroom with the bath sponge and ceruse!
A lonely girl lived in a
dark frightening forest.
I named myself Smiling Flower.
A smiling flower imprisoned by the snakes
in the basement of Miss Akram's house!
However, the snakes have a chief.
Its name is Seven-Headed Dragon.
The Seven-Headed Dragon has locked in
Smiling Flower in the hut in the forest,
which is our own bathroom.
But Smiling Flower is very clever.
She could become friends with a few snakes,
and the snakes told her where
the dragon's Bottle of Life is,
because snakes are very good
animals and if people like them...
...and talked a little kindly with
them, they will welcome humans warmly.
Snakes told me the dragon's Bottle of Life is
the bottle of egg shampoo in the bathroom!
The dragon has turned it into
this shape to trick people.
I took its Bottle of Life and
smashed it on the ground!
Bahar?
Darling?
Come out. What are you doing there?
What is the noise you're making?
- Is that you, Miss Norasteh?
- Yes, darling.
Come on out.
If I come out, granny will
make me black and blue.
No, darling.
We talked to her and she won't beat you.
Come out.
Yes, we talked to her. Come out, dear.
Well done, good girl!
You were frightened?
Don't tease your granny. Why
you didn't go to the class?
You are a good girl!
Granny! Mooshkamal peed in his bed.
- What he did?
- Peed in his bed.
Where is he?
Where is Mooshkamal?
Damn me!
What should I do with you, Mooshkamal?
My God!
Granny didn't beat me last night.
But when she found out
Mooshkamal has wet his bed,
she beat me instead of him!
Wait!
Is this right?
I wasn't home for only 2 days.
By God you must answer in the other world.
Her back is all bruised.
Beating in the past!
Granny's beating is cool! Whoever
doesn't have it is a fool!
Beating is not beating nowadays! They
bastinadoed children in the past!
Don't say that in front of them.
They'll get cheeky.
I ran to the loo to cry with
the engravings on the wall.
The engravings are my friends.
One is the Winged Horse.
The others are Mermaid, Mickey Mouse,
and one has recently become like Badri
in Human Sellers of 20th Century.
My father did the gatch-work
on the loo walls.
Granny says, "God damn you, Ghafoor!
If you'd brought in a mason,
the walls of the loo wouldn't
be full of bumps and holes."
I'm happy my dad didn't do well
the gatch-work on the walls,
because my friends have come out of it.
Besides, I sometimes sing to
them many songs and poems.
My dad has bought a
three-wheeled blue pickup.
I'm bringing you fruit roll!
- Me!
- Me!
From the youngest to the oldest!
Granny!
Look out! I lost the thread!
- Will you tell me a story?
- Story or tragedy?
Granny!
I don't know any stories.
Careful, kids.
Here you are.
I have fruit rolls but you don't!
Beggar! You kept it for now?
I hope you choke on it!
Beggar!
Thank God! He left!
I hope he never returns!
SHAH LEFT!
Why are you looking? Is it a wedding?
The cookies finished before
my dad could take any.
But I know my dad is strong,
because he's grown his
hair long like Samson.
Today my dad is taking
us to my uncle's house,
to see our cousin who's just
been released from prison.
Streets of Tehran are still crowded.
The sound of shots can be
heard from everywhere.
My dad took us to my uncle's
house from a secret way,
because my dad is an expert
at finding shortcuts,
secret routes, and steeps.
The interrogator asked you calmly.
If you didn't answer or paused
or said you didn't know,
he'd stub out his cigarette on your hand.
What about your nails?
They pulled them out too?
Not me, but my cellmate, they
tortured him very badly.
They'd hung him from the ceiling.
Thank God they didn't
have anything against me.
They say they pulled out
women's nails in prison.
Is it true?
I don't know. We weren't
with women in one place.
Any news from Seyyed Mohammad's son?
They say he is in prison.
I don't know.
There weren't a few prisoners.
They were so many.
Here, son.
Eat to get strong.
Let him take two.
Thank you.
Did you see what those jerks did to him?
My son is brave. I have 9 of them!
I have 9 of them but he
doesn't appreciate it.
He doesn't deserve it!
Eat.
Men yearn for sons, but my
husband wanted a daughter!
He married again and she
dropped him a daughter!
I have no objection.
I tell him to take his carcass there
if he wants his wife and daughter.
We have no objection.
He is over there day and night.
All the time!
He goes out, travels to Qom, Kashan,
goes on pilgrimage with Nayyer Khatun!
He has nothing to do with us.
He sits her beside him and steps on it!
Him!
But when he wants to dye his
hair, beard, and moustache,
he comes here and shits my bathroom!
The good and happiness are
all for Nayyer Khatun.
Stop it! Don't talk behind her back.
You are spiteful. Spite has
callused in your heart!
My heart has callused with spite?
I hope you get a pain that you don't die
and there'll be nobody to help you!
Am I lying?
I don't understand how you don't
learn anything from Ghafoor.
His wife passed away many years ago.
He is raising his children like a good man.
He doesn't complain or take a wife.
But you took two!
I am alive, but you remarry.
I am here! See me!
It isn't his fault.
He didn't find out when
my flowers were born,
when grew up.
I raised them with hardship, with my heart!
You laugh?
I'm laughing at Qadir.
You are like him. You'll end
up together, God willing!
Granny! Their food has no meat!
My love!
Qadir will sacrifice my and my 9
sons' lives for this damn thing,
whatsisname, projector!
He brings it out of the wardrobe,
cleans it, caresses it, kisses it!
That's what you deserve!
I just don't understand,
why he doesn't take this darling of his
to the house of that darling of his!
To Nayyer Khatun's house.
He is afraid it might be a trouble for her.
Turn off the light.
Sit down.
God forgive us!
Everybody comes here and I must serve them.
But who appreciates it? Nobody!
Damn me!
Let us watch!
Watch it!
I hope you die!
Damn you!
Today marks the historic
return of Imam Khomeini--
Welcome, our leader!
Long live Khomeini! Down with his enemy!
Greetings to Prophet! Imam
Mahdi's help is here!
Greetings to Prophet! Imam
Mahdi's help is here!
Granny?
- Where is granny?
- Huh?
Not 'huh'! Where is granny?
What?
Are you deaf? Where is your granny?
She left my hand and was lost!
- She was lost?
- Yes.
God is the Greatest!
God is the Greatest!
Granny! There she is!
I love Imam! You weren't there to see.
Wish you were too.
I went ahead and saw him at the distance.
He was all light. May I
be sacrificed for him!
Come on. I'm famished!
Look! Arch of Quran!
Arch of Quran! We are there!
Arch of Quran!
Quiet!
I miss Yazd very much.
If I was to decide, I
wanted to live in Yazd.
We haven't been to Yazd
for more than a year,
since the revolution.
I talk to myself less, because
I'm a grownup girl now.
- Egypt?
- Cairo.
- Iraq?
- Baghdad.
- Saudi Arabia?
- Riyadh.
China?
Peking.
- England?
- London.
- Japan?
- Tokyo.
Bravo, darling. When did you learn them?
Well done to my darling!
She is very intelligent.
She went to school at 6.
- Well done, good girl!
- Well done, darling!
I've sent a drawing to
the Children Programme.
- They're going to show it.
- Well done!
You sent so many drawings to the television,
but they didn't show any of them.
You answered all capitals correctly.
So, I'll give you a magical present.
It isn't magical. It is only a rosary!
Don't be nosey!
It has a hole.
When you look through it,
you'll see Kaaba and any wish
you have will be answered.
Go away!
- How is that possible?
- Why not?
Let me see.
One must ask God with her
heart to be answered.
Bahar!
I said you've grown up and mustn't
play with Taher, didn't I?
- You don't listen?
- Sure!
- Come!
- I'm coming!
Wait!
See.
It is your treasure?
Not a treasure, but I like them very much.
What a pretty rosary!
I gave the best to you. Look after it.
I have a boat, but I can't
give it to anybody.
It is a memento.
Wash your heads.
Stop!
The Iraqi planes bombed Iranian cities--
Taher laughed!
You're out!
Bahar is pressing her lips!
Bruce Lee!
You laughed! You're out!
I didn't!
I can think of only this.
Go away! I won't dance.
Stop!
You are laughing.
Hurry! Make him laugh.
What if there'll be war, God forbid?
God forbid!
There won't be a war, God willing.
He is your responsibility, Bahar.
Take him to the toilet every half an hour,
so he doesn't dirty Bibi Zamzam's house.
We'll go to the cemetery and return soon.
Sure.
Don't leave the child and
search in the house.
My uncle told me not to touch his books
because I can't keep books well.
Cob walls are full of
bumps and they've made...
...different friends for
me with the lamp smoke.
The book Dastan Rastan is
written by Martyr Motahhari.
Prophet Mohammad sends a man,
Jobeir who was not handsome,
to propose to Zolfa, the
daughter of a noble aristocrat.
Zolfa's father is upset a little at first.
When he finds out Prophet
Mohammad has sent Jobeir,
he marries Zolfa off to him.
Jobeir doesn't talk to Zolfa 3
days and nights after the wedding,
and only says prayers.
Zolfa gets upset and informs
the Prophet of God.
The Prophet talks to Jobeir.
Jobeir says he was worshiping God for
giving him such a beautiful wife.
From then on, Jobeir and Zolfa
lived happily together.
Some time later, there is a war
between Muslims and infidels.
Jobeir falls to martyrdom in that war.
Martyr Motahhari hasn't written
if Zolfa marries again or not.
I hope she hasn't married again
and remained loyal to Jobeir.
I don't know what the late Bibi Safa
ate when she was pregnant with her,
that she's become like this!
He sends her with me because
of his job and doesn't come.
Thank you, Bahar! Is that how
you look after the child?
He's made my mother's house dirty.
Who would answer my mother if he'd
fallen into the pool and drowned?
Didn't I tell you not to leave the child?
He's peed on the walls. It doesn't matter.
What if he'd drowned in water?
What I should I do with you?
Where have you been?
God!
First, when I grow up, I'll become
an asthma doctor and cure my father.
Second, the TV shows my drawing soon.
And I become beautiful like Zolfa
so Jobeir comes and saves me...
...from granny and takes me away.
Why are you sleeping here?
What's happened to your face?
It is bleeding. Wash it.
Mas'ood and his sister Farideh,
after eating morning food,
take their bags and
books, and go to school.
Their behaviour on the way and in school--
There is war.
A man called Saddam has
attacked our country.
The news, granny, and dad say it.
We are in the Aliens' garage.
They have gone abroad.
They have given us the rooms to
live in them and look after them.
When the phone rings, it is very enjoyable.
You think you've become rich!
Don't touch it!
Hello?
I like the Aliens' garage very much,
because a dirty gutter passes by it.
There are a few suitcases in the end room.
In some of them, there are foreign dolls
and very beautiful Indian bracelets.
A few times when granny was asleep, I
went there and played with the dolls.
I wore the bracelets and necklaces
and became the king's daughter.
May Saddam lie in the graveyard!
He is the Antichrist!
Ghafoor, the neighbours say here
used to be a cemetery before.
Then they demolished it
and made houses in it.
- We get frightened at nights.
- Says who?
Quiet!
What did you say? Say it again.
- Say it again if you dare!
- I said quiet.
She said quiet.
She didn't say quiet.
She said, "Shut up!
Shut your mouth! Drop dead!"
I know what to do with you!
Enough!
Look what troubles you make!
By God I don't know what
to do with you all.
I take you to the field in Karaj in
good weather, you call it a desert.
I bring you to the city,
you say it is a graveyard!
Why do you scratch yourself so much?
Is there any pest on your body?
Why is the kid scratching herself?
Kid! She isn't polite and you back her up.
I'm just saying she is scratching herself.
She's gone into the TV!
What is going to happen to us!
Wars in the past! They were hard.
Military service!
But no!
We sometimes go out of
Tehran to sell watermelon.
It is very fun.
Watermelon!
Sweet watermelons! Hurry!
Living in the Aliens' house is very good.
But I've been ill for some time.
My skin is itchy. There
are big stains on it.
They itch at night. I scratch
them so hard they bleed.
Doctors give weird orders.
For example, one told granny to
lay me in lime water every day.
But it is no use and I don't get well.
That is the coast, here's the
sea, and I'm swimming in it.
One of the doctors said my
illness is Lichen planus.
It is a very hard name.
I repeated it many times like a
tongue twister until I learnt it.
I've become a little like my dad. I
mustn't eat fried food, egg, tomato.
But I can smell the perfume from Mashhad.
My dad is so sad for my illness that
he has forgotten his own asthma.
He went to a barber one
day and cut his hair.
Maybe he isn't that strong now.
Thank you.
Don't scratch it, dear.
Don't, darling.
My darling!
Why she does that?
She is asleep. Doesn't
know what she is doing.
Let me bring a cloth.
It happens because they get
into the slime and rubbish.
It's nothing. Don't panic.
Sleep.
I love you!
I can't sleep because of her. She
is scratching herself all the time.
Don't you want your spray?
What if the stains remain on her
body and nobody marries her...
...when she grows up because she is sick?
What are you saying at this hour?
We must see what'll happen to her now.
What if we lose her, God forbid?
Bite your tongue!
I don't want to die.
I was dreaming all night I was
dead and I've gone to the dead...
...under the garage and
become friends with them.
I was an asthma doctor there
and cured the dead's asthma.
My God! The rascals dropped bombs!
Get up!
Get up!
Go!
My God!
Run!
Hurry!
Come, dear.
My God!
May God end it well!
I was looking for the dead or their
skeleton in the neighbour's basement.
I'm not afraid of Iraqi planes much,
because if they drop bombs and I die,
I'll go to the dead and become their
asthma doctor and cure their illness.
My God!
They hit! Rascals!
Don't fear, dear!
Don't fear, darling.
My mother asks you. He's
written in Yazdi dialect!
Why you don't come to Yazd?
Pomegranates will run out.
How is Miss Bahar?
Does she still know the names of
the capitals of the countries?
Of course I do. I've learnt
many other things too.
For example, the currency of the countries.
I play Name Surname very well.
- Ghafoor!
- What?
What is it here?
Don't touch it. It is the main.
Do something. They might pierce it.
Nobody has anything to do with it.
Shall I plough?
- Goodbye, granny.
- Goodbye, darling.
You went in with shoes on? I
laughed and you got cheeky again?
How is Miss Bahar?
Does she still know the names of
the capitals of the countries?
I wish I wasn't grownup so
granny wouldn't tell me off.
I'd go to Yazd and play
Name Surname with Taher.
- Noroozi, what are you reading?
- What is it to you?
Granny? When will we go to Yazd?
Not now.
And suppose we do.
We can't take you with your sour skin.
There are 4 months till New Year.
I'll go this time.
If it is hard for you, I won't go again.
I can't stay in Tehran any more.
If you couldn't breathe
there, what would you do?
Where you can find your shots?
So many people are going.
Sick, disabled, everybody.
What do they do? I'll do the same.
Thank you.
Praise the Prophet!
My dad went to war today.
He went in a lorry like Bella Shoes lorry.
People gather aide in the lorries
and send them to the frontline.
There is canned food, clothes,
blanket, everything in the aides.
Hello. Where have you been?
I know my dad is strong.
I used to think he was strong because
his hair was long like Samson.
But he said it was a joke.
Lord! My heart is tied somewhere.
Where its porch is high.
- Fool, Taher has written it.
- Why?
- You don't know?
- No.
It is the season to get
Kajateh or silkworm.
Bibi Zamzam pours the cocoons here,
so the worms inside them die.
I pity them very much.
Then she waits until her
turn for silk spinning.
I miss dad very much.
My God!
What should I do?
My God!
When You'll send me to the graveyard?
I'm really sorry, Bibi Zamzam.
My God! What should I do now?
My God!
They called Afsar from Baseej.
Dad has been hit in the back by shrapnel.
We must return to Tehran quickly.
What about you?
I'd like to go to Mecca.
God willing you will go.
- What about you?
- I want to become a baker!
Why a baker? Become a doctor.
I want to become a baker
because they are rich.
They get money from people fast.
He is very clever.
I love him!
Don't!
What about you?
- I want to be a boy!
- Why?
Because boys are lions, like swords!
Girls are cheese, and
die if you touch them!
No, girls are lions, like swords.
Don't! That's enough.
Why do you want to be a boy?
Because boys don't have tousled
hair, and they don't remain single.
I love you!
Single or not, I won't
marry you off, darling!
Once upon a time, someone dug the mountain.
Dad told us the story of a mountain digger,
who wanted to be anything
except a mountain digger.
He wanted to be a king, the
sun, cloud, wind, mountain,
but he found out in the end the
mountain digger is stronger...
...and better than all of them.
A mountain digger is the king of the world.
My dad knows all things in the world.
Except the capital of countries.
I'll teach him that.
Goodbye, dad!
Bye, dad!
Dad!
Goodbye!
I'll go to the elegy gathering with her.
Don't do anything while I'm away.
Your school uniform is on the shelf
and your food is on the cooker.
Are you listening?
Go to school when your brothers come.
And don't swing so much.
Its bar is not firm.
I wish she went to school
in the morning too.
I'd have peace half a day.
Bahar! What are you doing up there?
Bravo, good girl!
What a brave girl!
This is the red alert!