Half Moon (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Half Moon
caption = "Half Moon" film poster
writer = Bahman Ghobadi
starring = Golshifteh Farahani,
Ismail Ghaffari,
Allah-Morad Rashtian,
Hedye Tehrani
director = Bahman Ghobadi
producer = Simon Field, Keith Griffiths, Abbass Ghazali, Bahman Ghobadi, Behrooz Hashemian, Hedye Tehrani
distributor = (USA)
released = 11 July 2007 (France)
runtime = 114 min
language = Kurdish/Persian
budget =
imdb_id = 0847050

"Half Moon" (Kurdish: "Nîwe Mang/Nîvê Heyvê") is a 2006 film written and directed by the Iranian Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi. Half Moon is a joint production of Iran, Austria, France and Iraq. This movie was commissioned by the "New Crowned Hope" festival, a celebration of the 250th birthday of Amadeus Mozart, and the story plot has been inspired in part by the Requiem.

Plot

Mamo, an old Kurdish musician in the twilight of his life, plans to perform one final concert "a cry of freedom" in Iraqi Kurdistan. The village's elderly warn him that as the moon becomes full something awful would happen to him and urge him not to proceed with his plan. After several months of trying to overcome the red-tape, he begins a long and dangerous journey along with his sons. Along the way, the group picks up female singer "Hesho" who resides in a village of 1,334 exiled women singers. This adds to the complications of the trip as women are not allowed to sing in Iran. Despite all these obstacles, Mamo is determined to continue with his journey across the border.

Critical reception

Critics gave the film generally favorable reviews. As of December 14, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 23 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_moon/ |title=Half Moon - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2007-12-14 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 9 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/halfmoon |title=Half Moon (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2007-12-14 |publisher=Metacritic]

Awards

#People's choice Award, International Competition, Istanbul International Film Festival, 2007.
#Best Cinematography, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2006.
#FIPRESCI Prize, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2006.
#Golden Seashell, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2006.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0847050|title=Half Moon
*rotten-tomatoes|id=half_moon|title=Half Moon
*metacritic film|id=halfmoon|title=Half Moon
*amg movie|id=1:359008|title=Half Moon
* [http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/08/29/half_moon_tracks_the_travails_of_kurdish_musicians/ Review by Ty Burr] , The Boston Globe.
* [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933441.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Review by Ronnie Scheib] , Variety.
* [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003119381 Review by Kirk Honeycutt] , Hollywood Reporter.
* [http://www.newcrownedhope.org/index.php?id=eventdetail&L=2 Half Moon] , "New Crowned Hope" Festival, Vienna, 2006.
* [http://www.close-upfilm.com/reviews/h/half_moon.html Half Moon Review] by Laurie Munslow, close-upfilm.com