THE JAR

In a remote village on the fringe of the sunbaked central desert of Iran, the oppressive heat makes water an unquestionable-and sacred-necessity. With no water fountains in this ancient desert village, it is traumatic when the communal water jar at the local school cracks. The only other way to get water is a long hike to a dangerous river. No one in authority seems to understand or care about the children's thirst, and efforts to repair the jar fail. One simple local woman, however, has a solution, and braves her neighbors' sarcasm to get a new jar. A simple story told like a fable, THE JAR features only two professional actors; the villagers all play themselves in a drama that unfolds with resonant symbolism. With scenes of poverty and ignorance presented with powerful realism, THE JAR captures the Iranian chararcter and soul in small gestures, in local dynamics far from the political centers. This is a masterful film by veteran filmmaker Forouzesh, who founded the Iranian Free Cinema in 1968, and produced many of the finest Iranian films in the last 35 years. In Persian with English Subtitles.