Redhead

The “Redhead” in the title is Farhad, a rather introverted man with a receding hairline, reddish-shimmering hair and a beard of the same color. One day he learns that his brother has been stabbed and is now at a hospital. He arrives there only to find out that his brother is alive and well, sitting next to his sister Somayyeh. “Why did you lie to me?”, Farhad barked at her. His brother is puzzled: “What kind of a welcome is this, after 14 years?” It seems the siblings are not really fond of their elder brother. When Reza asks Farhad if he knows that their father died last year, he only remarks that this is also “just another lie”. We sense that behind these, at first only verbal accusations, lurks a family tragedy that is gaining atmospheric shape on the drive to their parents’ house. They learn that their uncle has put a claim on the house and land even though their father’s last will and testament bequeathed it to his own children after Reza’s return. It is said that it was one of Rahman’s sons who stabbed Reza because of this inheritance conflict. Reza wants Farhad to help him to be legally awarded the inheritance. Farhad, however, is not interested. Shortly after, he gets into an argument with Rahman’s son and Reza is shot dead. But he appears to Farhad only a little later as a derisive “undead” – alive and kicking – who makes fun of him, but seems to like him anyway. Another “undead” is going to appear to Farhad in this misty-cold and snowed in winter forest, someone who seems cursed to wander between the world of the living and the world of the dead. He will explain to Farhad in detail the origin and the color of his hair. The conflict between the brothers develops into a surreal drama expressed in powerful imagery reminiscent of a Shakespeare play, brimming with grotesque Fellini-style circus magic. What will become of the revenge fantasies budding in Farhad, even though he seems to keep fighting them very hard? (Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg)