In early 2009, the people of Iran were on the brink of revolution. The movement was spearheaded by a generation of discontented youth who wanted to reform the status quo from the tyrannical presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Fueled by new technologies, the movement dubbed ‘The Green Wave‘ seemed primed to displace the current president and put into power the reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. But after some suspicious activity at voting polls, Ahmadinejad was declared the winner with an overwhelming percentage of the vote prompting violent protests to escalate on the streets of Tehran (coincidentally this is also happening right now in Egypt, making it even more relevant). Director Ali Samadi Ahadi creates a disturbing tapestry of the events and violence by interweaving animation, blog testimonials, tweets, cell phone footage and interviews from people who lived through the horrors.
The most visually striking element to the film are the animated sequences, which reminded me of the somber style of Waltz with Bashir. They are narrated from poetic blog entries of first hand accounts of terrible acts of violence committed by plain-clothed police officers dispensed by the reigning power. Between these segments is a mixture of social commentary from Iranian scholars and victims of the violence who describe first hand the nonchalant brutally unleashed on innocent civilians. This is painted even more vividly by the true life documented footage that explicitly show the government sponsored violence that terrorized the citizens of Iran.
It’s not often that documentaries have the kind of raw impact that this film inherently has. The urgency in Ahadi’s direction is as courageous as the people willing to disclose their personal and violent ordeals. Insightful and fascinating, the events of the 2009 Iran election should serve as a reminder to the world that crimes of human rights can spring up at any time. The Green Wave is an incredible portrait of a modern day rebellion and feels more urgent than ever in these ever-changing times.
What do you know of the Iranian rebellion? Will you seek out The Green Wave? Does it interest you?