201. Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi’s Farsi language film “Dokhtar” (Daughter) (2016) (Iran): Fallouts of a father-daughter protective relationship within a patriarchal, conservative Asian perspective
T he year 2016 saw the release of two very interesting award-winning films from two countries from two continents. Both films deal with the father-daughter protective relationship under different patriarchal scenarios. Daughter is an Iranian film and presents an interesting tale set in a society where the male members of the family protect their wives and their daughters until they are married with a ferocity that might surprise many in Western developed countries. Graduation is a Romanian film with another interesting tale where the father travels the proverbial extra mile to ensure his daughter benefits from a prized graduate education outside his country that will help her in future life. The only basic difference between the two films is that the women in Romania enjoy a greater freedom of action compared to the male dominated Iran. In both films, the women have the last word. How interesting it is to find parallel tales emerging from two different communiti...