HOT DOCS 26 REVIEW - PAIKAR

 

    Baldr Films, the production company behind monumental features like All We Imagine As Light, makes its Hot Docs Film Festival premiere with Paikar. It’s an expansive and sobering film, an odyssey that begs its viewers to pay attention to the images flashing on screen. Immediately, Dawood Hilmandi sets the tone of the film, with the first 20-minutes heavily involving a myriad of close-up shots; everybody on screen is often captured at very close angles, and the camera is shaking from movement as it captures everybody in the surrounding area. 

    It’s a document of history, first and foremost, that contemplates existentialism, family dynamics, and generational trauma through the lens of rising tensions in the Middle East, and this ends up bleeding into a core narrative dynamic, which is the relationship between Hilmandi and his father. It’s an incredibly raw and emotional presentation, as Hilmandi does not hold back when it comes to discussing his childhood experiences with his father. There are also many scenes that feature Hilmandi and his father talking to each other in the present about love and affection. These scenes are the emotional core of the story, and they are explored rigorously; Hilmandi leaves no stone unturned during his attempts to understand more about his father’s life.

    Over the course of the film, Hilmandi goes on a journey, partially to learn more about his father’s past, that covers Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. Creating an experience that not only feels incredibly necessary, but can be inherently visceral to experience. Woven in with the shocking images of war and violence are stories of people who are attempting to be with each other and survive the best they can, while being torn between the past they used to know and the present that they no longer recognize. 

    If you get the chance to, you must see this film in a movie theatre auditorium. Not only because of its themes of community and the power that people can have when they help each other for good, but also because of the incredible and borderline experimental sound design. During moments of tension or discovery (especially when capturing the surroundings of an immediate environment), the sound design has a tendency to change speed, glitch, and contort, and add even more volume to the already impactful visuals. During moments of contemplation or exploration on behalf of Hilmandi, the visuals follow along in a like-minded manner, creating an atmosphere that is consistently unpredictable and equally engaging for the viewer. Essentially, this film should be a top priority for anyone at Hot Docs right now. 

Paikar is screening at the TIFF Lightbox on Sunday, April 26th, at 4:00pm, and Monday, April 27th, at 8:15pm.