Heshmat is a good father and a husband attentive to the needs of his family. Every morning he gets up early for work. What work? Pouya doesn't feel like the one who legally has to take a human life. What must she do to avoid this task? Javad doesn't know that along with his official declaration of love on his fiancée's birthday, he will have to confront an event that has shaken her deeply. Bahram is a doctor who practices in a remote location and has decided to meet his niece, who lives in Germany, for the first time to reveal a secret.
Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival
"The stories in Evil Does Not Exist are tough, stories of resistance, where the epilogues can be mysterious, liberating, devastating, and open. Every encounter has an impact. In some cases, there's a hint of predictability: Bahram's reaction after seeing the photo of the man whose funeral is about to be celebrated; Bahram's expression while waiting for his niece at the airport. In reality, however, the stories are linear, clear, and powerful. What's striking about each one is the way Rasoulof approaches them and how he lets his internal conflicts emerge. After a constant feeling of suffocation, Evil Does Not Exist finally breathes. In that long, Kiarostami-esque shot from afar, there's perhaps hope, a sign that Rasoulof's cinema could be reborn." (Simone Emiliani)
The film is part of the series I Tulipani dell'Iran, in collaboration with the associations: Donne Libere Iraniane, Donna Vita Libertà Firenze, and Mabuse Cineclub.
