In the wake of the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein unleashed his oppression of the Iraqi Kurds. Victims of continual bombings and the mass use of chemical weapons, the Kurds were forced to flee and seek refuge on the Iranian border. The film begins in the Iranian region of Kurdistan. Mirza is an old and famous Kurd singer who, with his two musician sons, Barat and Audeh, is preparing to go in search of his former wife Hanareh. The couple used to sing in a band with Seyed, a friend of Mirza’s. Hanareh left her husband to marry Seyed and togedher they moved to Iraqi moved to Iraqi Kurdistan and continued singing. Now, Mirza has heard that Hanareh performs for the Kurd refugees on the border between Iran and Iraq and she needs his help. Mirza convinces his sons to accompany him in this dangerous journey, packed with adventures and mishaps. They perform during a wedding feast, and in the refuge of a band of thieves who steal their sidecar. They go from a camp for orphans in Iraqi Kurdistan to a mass grave, where the women are digging with their hands to try and find the bodies of their loved ones. Here, Mirza discovers Seyed is dead and his body has been left under the snow until it can be cremated, as was his wish. Mirza realises why Hanareh has sent for him. After carrying out the last wish of his friend, Mirza is anxious to meet his former wife. However, the woman, a victim of a chemical bomb attack, refuses to show herself, because she is disfigured and has lost the use of her voice.
Director
BAHMAN GHOBADI