Loose Rope

Mikhail and Asgar are friends bound together by their lot in life. Workers at an animal market in the dusty proletarian south of Tehran, they haul sheep and cows around to traders in the back of a battered Chevy pickup. Taciturn Mikhail is in charge; he drives the truck and takes orders from the boss on his cell phone. Asgar meanwhile flutters around talking too much, calling his mom, and cooking their meals. When the boss orders them to take a cow to slaughter in north Tehran, Mikhail and Asgar embark on a cross-town journey that transports them to what is practically another country. Binding their bovine companion loosely to the back of the truck, they traverse Tehran's city landscape to the wealthy suburbs of the north. The friends overcome various mishaps en route – a pretty university student has a car crash, their truck breaks down, spoiled students nearly cause a riot trying to get pictures of the cow on their cell phones. LOOSE ROPE is a beautiful and often funny parable about the ties that bind us all. Oh, and don't worry: no animals were hurt in the making of this film. (In Farsi with English subtitles) – B. B.