GilaneGilaneh (2005)

A mother's courage, hardship, and love, in times of war. In 1988, during the Iran-Iraq war, Gilane escorts her pregnant daughter, Maygol, from the relative calm of their village, Espili, into war-torn Tehran to search for Maygol's husband, Rahman. The journey is arduous and what they find when they reach the capital is dismaying and frightening. Fifteen years later, as another war begins in Iraq, Gillane is at home caring for her son Ismael, who suffers from epilepsy, a byproduct of war. As she cares for him, she hopes for a visit from the doctor and from another daughter, Atefah. "Better be a dog than a mother," she says.

Edition Details
Original Title	Gilaneh
No. of Discs/Tapes	1

Personal Details
Tags	OSHPC Discussion Group
Links	Gilane at Core for Movies TheMovieDb.org IMDB

References
IMDb Voters	<500

Although not as well-known as her male counterparts--Kiarostami, Majidi, Makhmalbaf--Rakhshan Bani Etemad is not only one of the best filmmakers in Iran, but also one of the bravest. Unlike her largely depoliticized colleagues, Bani Etemad tackles issues that are either taboo (a love affair) or neglected (the mothers of Iran-Iraq War) in Iranian society. Gilaneh, although as engaged politically as anything else, also works as great drama, an emotional depiction of a mother who suffers the greatest punishment after war: taking care of shell-shocked and invalid son. The change that the mother undergoes between the war in '88 and the Iraqi war 15 years later is nothing short of astounding, and many praises to Madjid Bahrami who played Gilaneh. The final image of the mother is quite possibly one of the most emblematic images in cinema today.IMDb

	Madjid Bahrami
	Shahrokh Foroutanian
	Baran Kosari
	Madjid Bahrami	The Soldier
	Shahrokh Foroutanian	Doctor Dabiri
	Baran Kosari	Maygol
	Fatemah Motamed-Aria	Gilane
	Bahram Radan	Ismaeel
	Jaleh Sameti	Atefeh