Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival
"Shayda" is a story about a young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women's shelter during the two weeks of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz). The film captives a strong storytelling about mother and daughter bond, immigration, and escaping from hell. While the film does offer some interesting aspects, the film didn't fully connected with me as I thought the overall film was service level and pretty tame.
The 1:33:1 aspect ratio camerawork felt purposeful for the film's tone and setting, the production is good, and the performances from the cast members are great. Zar Amir Ebrahimi continues to achieve great style and emotions after her work in "Holy Spider" and the child actor was pretty good as well. However, the main story didn't have a huge emotional weight with me as I felt the film was pretty predictable and a bit too tame.
It's clear what direction it is going for but the overall film was mostly okay. Good intentions with a predictable story.
Rating: C+
"Shayda" is a story about a young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women's shelter during the two weeks of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz). The film captives a strong storytelling about mother and daughter bond, immigration, and escaping from hell. While the film does offer some interesting aspects, the film didn't fully connected with me as I thought the overall film was service level and pretty tame.
The 1:33:1 aspect ratio camerawork felt purposeful for the film's tone and setting, the production is good, and the performances from the cast members are great. Zar Amir Ebrahimi continues to achieve great style and emotions after her work in "Holy Spider" and the child actor was pretty good as well. However, the main story didn't have a huge emotional weight with me as I felt the film was pretty predictable and a bit too tame.
It's clear what direction it is going for but the overall film was mostly okay. Good intentions with a predictable story.
Rating: C+