[VIFF 2020] REVIEW: 'Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness' should deliver a lot more

Sadaf Asgari and Behnaz Jafari star in Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, directed by Massoud Bakhshi.

If we’re talking about two major forces clashing against one another, few conflicts are better than the ones that pit young and inexperienced against old and wise. In the Persian-language film Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, the conflict takes place in an arena where the difference is life or death.

Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) stands accused of murdering her husband, Nasser, who is nearly 50 years her senior. On Yaldā Night, she will have to plead her case on an Iranian TV reality show, “Joy of Forgiveness,” and ask for mercy from Mona (Behnaz Jafari), Nasser’s oldest daughter, whose forgiveness can commute Maryam’s death sentence in a country in which an eye for an eye is a legal right. Ayat (Babak Karimi), the show’s producer, assures Maryam that she has a rare opportunity to save her own life if she plays her cards right.

Maryam claims that Nasser’s death was an accident, and a subsequent miscarriage has already brought upon much pain and sadness to her and her family, for whom she provides after the untimely death of the patriarch. Also at stake is Nasser’s business empire, which would belong solely to Mona if Maryam is executed. The live TV format would allow callers to text the show, and if Maryam gets enough support, the show’s sponsors would pay either half or all of the blood money.  

What follows is a tense showdown in which Maryam’s emotional outburst is juxtaposed with Mona’s cold judgement. It’s an interesting parallel and it makes for a riveting viewing, especially given the backdrop of Iran’s Sharia laws. Unfortunately, director Massoud Bakhshi felt it necessary to introduce several twists to the story, and it’s debatable if it added any more tension or identity to the characters. Did we really need further explanation why Mona had such a vested interest in her father’s empire? Did we really need that twist to further root for Maryam? And why introduce a third wheel when the film made no effort to address it within the context of Iranian law and customs at the film’s conclusion?

There’s a sense that the film felt insecure about what it had already – a compelling showdown between two diametrically opposed women restricted by the laws surrounding them – and needed a left-field twist to get them across the finish line.

Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness gets two and a half stars out of four.