Lovely but bittersweet

by Martin Hafer

When I saw the title of this German film, Si-o-se Pol, I had absolutely no idea what that meant and in the course of the film you learn that this is an old an apparently very picturesque bridge in Iran. It really has little to do with the film’s plot–just a memory of one of the characters about a lovely place he remembers from his youth.

The film begins in North Africa. A small group of people are being smuggled into Spain. One of them, Parvis, is looking for his daughter. Apparently, they haven’t seen each other for over a decade and he’s left Iran to look for her. This search is imperative, as Parvis is dying and wants to make peace with her before his death–what’s transpired between them is something you’ll need to find out through the course of the movie. Once he’s made it to Madrid, the last town that he knows she was in, he begins searching for her. But it’s a big town and the clues he has are scant. He’s also hungry and out of work, so his search seems hopeless. Along the way, this very decent man meets a couple people and they become his friends–and they agree to help him in his search.

Si-o-se Pol
Directed by
Henrik Peschel
Cast
Ramin Yazdani, Christian Concilio, Pheline Roggan
Release Date
10 December 2015
Martin’s Grade: A


This is a very nice, gentle sort of a film. It’s slow paced, but it doesn’t drag–mostly because the characters are quite likable. The actors as well as the writer/director (Henrik Peschel) can be credited for this. Additionally, there is an interesting contrast between Parvis and his incredible journey and his Italian and German friends whose own troubles and conflicts seem rather simple by comparison. Well worth seeing, though because it doesn’t have a formulaic ending that some might expect and demand, some might find the ending disappointing–though I didn’t. I like the film because it is a nice look into three very disparate personalities–three who manage to trust and care about each other through the course of this engaging film. Well worth seeing.