Cinema Trust Mohammad Yaraghi wrote in the newspaper Etemad: “In the old boy, the viewer takes a step into the world where family tyranny, hidden violence and tragic fate are intertwined in the fabric of everyday life. The work, which first appears as a family drama, is slowly leaning to a criminal work, and its heavy atmosphere is such that it feels the audience as one of the wandering characters in this worn -out house. The story passes in the heart of an old apartment in Tehran; A building with Turkish walls and old furniture that reflects the personality and social decline of its inhabitants. Ghulam, a tyrannical father and his two children- Ali and Reza- spend in such an atmosphere, and at any moment it is afraid that this family will be more than ever before.
What distinguishes the “old boy” is his delicacy in the representation of power and repression. Ghulam, starring Hassan Pourshirazi, is a character whose toughness and violence has been overwhelmed by years of humiliation and social failures. He only tries to maintain his position and prevent the crumbling of the image he has made. Drug use, humiliating behaviors, and heavy looks make this father a monster who, though he dominates the house, is in fact losing his own.
In the opposite pole, Ali stands; A man in a continuous silence that can be seen in every look and movement. In one of his most mature artworks, Hamed Behdad depicts Ali not through long conversations, but with deep silence, full of pain and worn out. Each of his action is a testament to the fear that has grown in the shadow of his father. Reza’s younger brother is in a different position: he fluctuates between his father’s hatred and his passion. Mohammed Wali Zadegan, by creating a dual personality – sometimes the rebellion and sometimes thirsty for the satisfaction of Reza, makes Reza one of the most complex figures in this narrative and appears as a symbol of a generation that does not find between freedom and dependence.
The film is not just the narrator of a family, but also draws a society of a society in which violence and repression continue under a shell of tradition and worn -out beliefs. From the perspective of family relationships, the “old boy” makes the difficulties of Iranian society with great accuracy; The middle class, which once had dreams, is now under the pressure of economic problems, addiction and patriarchal culture. A home that once a sign of authenticity is now a ruin that burnt burnt dreams in its heart.
But one of the milestones of this work is its gradual move from a family drama to a criminal trailer. The slow change of rhythm and its tone suddenly finds the viewer in the middle of the crisis; A crisis that is rooted in the years of repression and humiliation in the family. This calculated transformation creates a continuous suspension until the last minutes, and, unlike the usual stereotypes of the criminal genre, considers violence not a transient tool, but the inevitable result of the accumulated pressures of the personalities. The same shift in the genre transforms the slave from the bullying father into a frightening element that may return the sheet at any moment.
“The old boy” reveals the dark face of contemporary Iranian society; A society in which poverty, addiction, and frustration is shadowing the family’s context, as if there is no way to escape. The old apartment and the lifeless life of the characters are not a sign of personal problem; Rather, echoes are a social collapse that also encompasses long -standing structures. Ghulam, as a symbol of a generation that has been stubborn in the past and does not accept change, has attempted to control everything, while his children are confronted with the acceptance of existing reality and the wish of liberation. This work intelligently shows how the difficulties of livelihoods, social humiliation, and the absence of a bright future drive people into suspension and violence.
On the other hand, the psychological depth of the father -boys’ relationships in this film is remarkable. Ghulam, with years of tyranny and authoritarianism, has developed children who have taken two contrasting approaches: Ali, who has become an isolated and low -lying man, and Reza, who, though in the uprising, is still sought to confirm his father in his father’s approval. He has a head. This pathway cycle is so strong that it fails any effort to liberate. The continuous humiliation of the slave, from the spicy to the painful laughter, is all an attempt to consolidate the authority that is originally depleted from within.
One of the most prominent aspects of “old boy” is his reliance on body language and silence that reveals the world of characters more than any word. Avoiding long conversations has made the smallest behavioral hints make sense. The weight of the slave steps, the form of his humiliating sitting, the curved shoulders of Ali, and the nervous movements of Reza are all invited to the ghost of these people. In key moments, silence speaks more than any sentence and immerses the audience in a closed and anxious space.
The visual appearance and the scope of the work also add to this suffocating feeling. Cold lights, tight frames, and bustling bustle, all emphasize the deadlock in which the characters are caught. Methadone bottles, cigarettes, and non -ventilation are the symptoms of the gradual death that flows behind these walls. In the end, all the signs reach a single axis: the Nader Shah Afshar painting in the Cronal War. This picture is something beyond a decorative background; It reminds the bloody history of how kings also sacrificed their children. The slave takes the same path as well, and this oppression has no end.
Finally, the “old boy” brings the viewer to the last moment with a clever narrative, deep characterization and admirable roles. This work is not just a family drama; Rather, it is a mirror against a society that tries to escape past chains, but is still in the whirlpool of the same fate. Not only the slave is trapped in the captivity of the walls of their lives, and the “old boy” is a testament to the bitter repetition of the historical history as if there is no hope for it.