Icarus Films: No Date, No Signature

No Date, No Signature

From The Distrib Films Collection

Directed by Vahid Jalilvand

104 minutes / Color
Farsi / English subtitles
Release: 2017
Copyright: 2017

Ethics

Iran

Fiction - Features

film poster

In No Date, No Signature, acclaimed director Vahid Jalilvand, winner of Best Director prize at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, takes on a gripping psychological drama of morality and class dynamics in contemporary Iran. Forensic pathologist Dr. Nariman’s car accidentally injures a motorcyclist’s 8-year-old son. He offers to take the child to a clinic, but the father refuses his help and his money. A few days later, in the hospital where he works, Dr. Nariman learns that the boy has died under suspicious circumstances. His existential dilemma: is he responsible for the death, or did the child die of another cause, as the autopsy suggests? It’s a study in ethical nuance, filtered through class consciousness. Jalilvand coaxes brilliantly understated performances from a superb cast for this compelling, considered meditation on guilt and grief.

“Lensed with great sensitivity and style and superbly acted! The film is a visual pleasure.” —Hollywood Reporter

“A handsomely made, exceptionally well-played drama.” —Variety

“Every aspect of the execution on display here posits Jalilvand as among Iran’s most assured directors to have emerged in this decade.” —RogerEbert.com

“A taut, neorealist tale of guilt and morality in the tradition of groundbreaking Iranian filmmakers Asghar Farhadi and the late Abbas Kiarostami.” —The Boston Globe

“Everyone’s convincing yet understated performances create a compelling narrative that explores the ethics of several people from multiple angles.” —Digital Journal