Midday Meal

A rural schoolteacher loses sight of his own morality and sanity as he questions the divergent needs of his young (and old) charges in Midday Meal, director Majid Majidi’s eleventh feature film. A slow-burning bonfire of moral vanities unfolding in a land beset by poverty and bureaucracy, the Iranian auteur’s moving drama bows in competition in Busan, where he and lead actor Mohammad Rahimi can expect to take home awards.

Still best known for his Oscar-nominated film Children of Heaven, Majidi unsurprisingly fills the story with kids – hard-boiled ones, mind, who are cannier about the ways of the world than their young age might suggest. Living in an impoverished village in the arid hinterlands of southeastern Iran, the children go to school mostly for the complimentary lunch available there. The more unfortunate ones, meanwhile, cut class to smuggle fuel to make ends meet. In comparison, Solan (Rahimi) looks like purity personified: a diligent teacher, a caring counsellor and a self-taught medic rolled into one, he takes good care of his young wards and solves problems for the locals, giving shots to the sick and breaking bread with labourers.

As much as he genuinely loves his pupils, Solan needs them as much as they need him. Working on a part-time contract for measly pay, he has to keep the school running until he can secure a full-time position and the financial stability that will allow him to purchase a new apartment for himself and his elderly mother (Kheyri Zakeri). His naiveté is soon put to the test when the benefactor behind the free food service dies, the daily delivery of grub grinds to a halt, and the children stop coming to class. In desperation, he begins to drain his own savings to buy food for those midday meals – a benign-enough beginning for a journey down a slippery slope of increasingly illegal and morally transgressive acts.

Returning to filmmaking after six years away – his last feature was Sun Children, which was in competition in Venice – Majidi has lost none of his edge in tackling the tough realities of the day. Teaming up on the screenplay with Houman Behmanesh, who also lensed the film, the director peppers the story with nuggets of wisdom about the creeping cynicism of a society quickly falling into disrepair. When Solan asks a contact to vouch for him for a bank loan, the man offers a tough deal and snaps: “The time for good deeds is over, now I only do things for myself.” Later, when the teacher stumbles to explain how he continues to support his pupils’ welfare, his supervisor blithely says: “Charity has its own rules.”

Despite its two-hour-plus running time, Midday Meal remains captivating to watch as Majidi’s sure-handed approach slowly unravels Solan’s perception of his own goodness and his struggle to overcome the many moral dilemmas thrown at him. What really drives the film forward, however, is Rahimi, who delivers a stunning performance as the hapless do-gooder forced to do bad things for his own survival. Under Majidi’s aegis, the non-professional actor vividly evokes his character’s gradual transformation from a generous, good-humoured teacher to a brusque, dishevelled shadow of his former self.

But Midday Meal can hardly be accused of being merely miserabilist. Even in a film exploring the shades of grey within human morality, the ever-humanist Majidi manages to tease out ecstatic moments of explosive colours and unbridled joy. Amidst the rugged beauty of the dustiest of landscapes, we see people – and especially children kitted out in simple, bright-colored attire  – struggling to survive. Working with editor Mahyar Behmanesh, Majidi deploys a host of visual techniques to move the narrative forward, from tracking aerial shots of characters travelling through the unforgiving lands, to rapid montages of food being prepared for the schoolkids. The diverse visual style echoes what is perhaps central to Midday Meal: that life is never simple, and there are more ways than one to be human, fallible or otherwise.

Director: Majid Majidi
Screenplay: Majid Majidi, Houman Behmanesh
Producers: Majid Majidi, Amir Banan
Cast: Mohammad Rahimi, Kheyri Zakeri, Rahim Baksh Pira, Heybatmorad Damani
Cinematography: Houman Behmanesh
Editing: Mahyar Behmanesh
Production design: Mohammadreza Mirzamohammadi
Music: Ramin Kousha
Sound: Mohammadreza Delpak
Production company: Kanoon (Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults)
Venue: Busan International Film Festival (Competition)
In Persian
133 minutes