Director Mohammad Rasoulof’s award-winning drama There is No Evil, filmed in secret and banned in Iran, vividly raises key questions of morality and responsibility for the world and society we inhabit. In four insightful interwoven short stories, it challenges the audience to think deeply about their own humanity. Ostensibly the film’s focus is Iran’s death penalty, but on a deeper level, the questions may be “what kind of world we want to live in and what kind of people we want to be”.
Released in 2020, this film is extremely timely. This thought-provoking film exposes Iran’s Islamic theocracy, and poses the universal moral bankruptcy of “I was just following orders.” But it also shows the humanity and joy of those who choose daring rebellion against the repressive social order. This film artfully presents choices that are profoundly posed right now in the world and for the future. You get a distinct sense in the four stories that there are bigger forces at work in individual lives. It is posed in Iran with its repression based in dark-age religious fanaticism as it is posed by Palestine to all those who excuse the crimes of U.S./Israel in Gaza. Is complicity and going along in silence acceptable? Or is it reprehensible? Who will stand up, confront and act on the need and real historic possibility to put an end to all the unnecessary human suffering?
Director Rasoulof himself has been repeatedly arrested because of his work criticizing Iran’s Islamic theocratic rule. After an Iranian court in May sentenced him to 8 years in prison, flogging, and a fine for movies opposing the regime, he made a daring escape by walking for 28 days across Iran’s mountainous borderland. He said later “What I can observe from my own story is that the satisfaction that you receive once you resist oppression and despotism can be higher than the price you have to pay.” Think of his undaunted comment as you watch his film.
The film is available on Prime or YouTube and other online streaming platforms https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/there-is-no-evil
Like many films by the best Iranian filmmakers, the cinematography is breathtaking.