Holy Spider (4½ Stars)

This is a film made in Persian (Farsi) by Ali Abbasi, an Iranian director who lives in Denmark. It's about Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer in Mashhad in 2000 and 2001. He confessed to 16 murders, but it's suspected that he killed more. The film follows the investigations of Arezoo Rahimi, a female journalist from Teheran who's come to Mashhad to investigate the killings.

The film is in two parts. In the first part Rahimi is hunting the killer, because she doesn't think the police are interested in finding him. Saeed murders prostitutes, and the police think he's helping them by removing immoral women from the streets. The killer has the unusual habit of phoning a reporter, Rahimi's colleague, after every murder to tell him where he's left the body.

In the second part, after his arrest, we see the public outcry. Saeed is popular among veterans from the Iran-Iraq war, and they think he's been wrongly arrested. Saeed claims that he's been carrying out a Jihad against immorality, so they say he's done nothing wrong. When Saeed appears in court, he uses the opportunity to hold religious speeches. He shows no regret for his crimes, except that he's stopped too soon. He says that there are about 200 prostitutes in Mashhad, so it's not enough to have killed only 16 of them.

 "Holy Spider" doesn't hide the killer's identity. It's not a whodunnit. We see him from the beginning as a good husband and father. He loves his wife, he loves his children and he loves Allah. He honestly believes he's doing God's work.

The director wanted to make the film in Iran, but he wasn't given permission, so it was filmed in Jordan. When it was completed, the Iranian govenment made a statement saying it was insulting to Iran. That's one of the differences between a free country and a dictatorship. Films are made in America that criticise the authorities, and they're accepted as an expression of free speech. If a film criticises the Iranian govenment or any aspects of Iranian culture, there are loud complaints.

I almost didn't go to see this film. It's been in the cinema for a few weeks, but I only found out last week that it received several nominations at the Cannes Film Festival, and Zar Amir Ebrahimi was voted Best Actress for her performance as Rahimi. I'm glad I saw the film today. It's ugly in its depiction of violence against women,  but it's a moving thriller, delicately dealing with the problems of life in a misogynist culture. I would have given it five stars, but I've deducted half a star for the smoking in the film. I'm biased against cigarettes, sorry.