Revolutionary Mohammad Rasoulof writes a stunning survival drama about a courageous woman facing a tough choice between family and social justice in Ali Samadi Ahadi’s Seven Days, selected for the TIFF Centerpiece this year.
The sound of the shower is loud and raspy. Maryam sits on the bathroom floor, staring at the wall with uncontrollable tears streaming down her face. A million rationales are bouncing in her mind, driving her towards a silent bleakness. Should she leave, or should she stay? The question repeats again and again. It never stops.
Mohammad Rasoulof‘s writing, always irreplaceable in the realm of high-minded art, introduces Maryam (Vishka Asayesh), a social activist who has been imprisoned in Iran for many years due to her activism for women’s empowerment. She is an iconic figure who battled for women’s rights in the face of sexism and patriarchy in her nation. Despite facing imprisonment, she sees this as a battle she is prepared to pursue. Her family, consisting of her husband and two children, has been residing in exile in Germany and has not had the opportunity to visit Maryam due to her imprisonment. Meanwhile, Maryam has been given a rare 7-day medical leave because of an undisclosed illness. In light of this, she reluctantly agrees to her husband and brother’s risky scheme to smuggle her from Iran to Turkey, a golden opportunity to meet her family who would be there for a short trip. She faces a difficult choice now: either to keep fighting for social justice or to finally be with her family.
Director Ali Samadi Ahadi puts pressure on the word “choices,” making it sound like an egg hanging on the edge of thorns. Maryam’s activism stems from her long-standing desire for a better future, freedom of choice, and recognition, which has been her driving force for years. We witness her argument with her brother in Iran, in which she articulates her dissatisfaction with the plan while advocating for her social cause, revealing the breadth and depth of her activism and also the significance of adhering to her goals. Yet the director, along with Mohammad Rasoulof’s impeccable script, shows the other side of the coin, focusing on how her family has taken her years of absence with contradictory views. A family member consistently embraces her, while another harbors resentment after years of tolerance. There’s a divide within the family, yet there are no villains here—a fact that is clearly portrayed through the screenplay.
The pre-planned journey is almost thrilling, where nothing is certain and everything happens in the blink of an eye at most. The oxygen level drops here, but our heartbeat begins to rise. The smuggling process resembles Flee in its heart-racing nature, presenting a visual terror as one strives to reach the treasure at the end of the tunnel. However, it’s a journey that deepens her understanding of her own activism, as she encounters other women who assist her without knowing her identity or whereabouts, a fundamental observation concealed within the film. A turn of events then occurs, leading to a series of challenges that not only affect Maryam but also those around her.
Seven Days (Haft Rooz) is a breathtaking survival drama about an iron woman who wants the best of both worlds, uplifted by Vishka Asayesh’s daring performance. She embodies the strength to endure adversity and the love that keeps her alive. It’s daring, poignant, and, at times, demands acknowledgment and comprehension for the real-time social activism that is ongoing in the country to this day. Perhaps it’s a non-fiction film after all, as Maryam provides us with an all-inclusive overview of how and what it takes to uphold humanity in the modern world of conflicts and oppressions. Maryam’s phrase, “Crossing is not the hardest pain; it’s what you cannot carry with you,” could break anyone’s heart into pieces. Yet what stands high and mighty is that a woman is a fighter for the truth as well as a mother with her maternal instincts embedded in her, which never vanishes.
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