A 2004 Iranian tragicomedy starring Mohammed Reza Golzar and Amin Hayai.
Amir (Mohammed Reza Golzar) is the son of a wealthy Iranian man, who is all set to go study in America when he accidentally hits an old man with his car. The old man goes into a coma, and Amir is forbidden from leaving the country until either he wakes up, or he can come to a settlement with the man's family.
The man has only a son, Hassan (Amin Hayai). While he is initially, of course, furious with Amir, he warms up to him when Amir helps him to impress a girl...
Provides examples of:
- Anonymous Benefactor: Amir sells his plane ticket to pay for Hassan's heart surgery. Hassan doesn't realize this till the end - when he pays Amir back using the settlement money.
- Bad Liar: Hassan.
- Big Fancy House: Amir's father's house. Later, Hassan pretends it's his.
- Bittersweet Ending: The bitter: Hassan's father is dead, and the friends are unlikely ever to see each other again. The sweet: Amir goes to America to join his mother and fiancee, while Hassan recovers from surgery and finally gets together with Maryam.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Amir pretends to be Hassan while on the phone. Hassan is not impressed.
- Buy Them Off: Amir's father tries to do this to Hassan. In the hospital. It doesn't end well.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Surprisingly, it is Hassan who does this on Amir's behalf.
- Cannot Talk to Women: Hassan.
- Cover Identity Anomaly: Hassan doesn't even know to use the correct word for "hospital."
- Cry into Chest: Hassan, to Amir, twice. The first time, somewhat Played for Laughs. The second... not so much.
- Dinner Order Flub: Hassan attempts to order a "coffee shop," and cannot pronounce "cappuccino."
- Earpiece Conversation: In the coffeeshop scene.
- Epic Fail: Hassan's first attempt at a date with Maryam. He is almost too nervous to speak, keeps talking to Amir through his sleeve, can't even order a coffee, keeps mixing up words, accidentally insults her, and finishes off by getting into a fake fight with Amir and then making an excuse that he is called to the hospital, leaving her to pay the bill. She still agrees to a second date... which is even worse...
- "Fawlty Towers" Plot: The guys paint themselves into a corner pretty badly with all their attempts to impress Maryam. Also, just try convincing anyone that Hassan is a doctor...
- Fire-Forged Friends: Parodied. The duo bond when breaking into cars and stealing the radios, for no real reason.
- Fish out of Water: Hassan.
- Freudian Slip: Hassan offers Maryam her choice of cucumber or banana. Wonder how they got THAT past the censors...
- Friendless Background: When Amir leaves his fathers house, the only place he has to go to is Hassan's. This is the guy whose father he almost killed, who beat him up at their first meeting, and who had kicked him out the previous night. Hassan also, as he reveals in the Talking in Bed scene. This might be why the two become so close, despite the circumstances.
- From Bad to Worse: Hassan is completely lost in "his" house, and can't even find the bathroom. Then Amir's father comes home...
- The Fundamentalist: Amir's father. Fairly downplayed (or realistic) example.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": Hassan claims that when he worked in Japan, he would hide firecrackers in bodies before cremation.
- Honesty Is the Best Policy: Hassan finally tells Maryam the truth - after everything falls apart.
- Hypocritical Humour: Hassan insists that Amir speak to Maryam respectfully, but keeps addressing her very informally.
- I Gave My Word: Amir's father. He never intended to keep it from the beginning.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Both Hassan and Amir, when Hassan's father dies. It isn't Narm, it's
heartwrenching. - Insistent Terminology: That's Lady Maryam to you, Amir.
- It Makes Sense in Context: Hassan trying to explain how Amir became his friend (Because he hit his father with a car), before settling for "It's long."
- Jerkass: Amir's father.
- Kick the Dog: Amir's father come with a goon to beat up Hassan, after Hassan responds to his attempt to Buy Them Off by keying his car. Amir stops him.
- Line-of-Sight Name: A variation, where Hassan claims that the name of his "novel" is "Go to hell!" note - which is what Amir told him through the earpiece when he tried to ask for help instead of quickly coming up with a convincing lie.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Amir
- Makeover Montage: A rare male example.
- Manly Tears: Both the main characters cry when Hassan's father dies. Also Played for Laughs when they are listening to sad music. Amir also wipes his eye suspiciously when he sees the photograph that Hassan left in his car, soon before leaving for America when he is unlikely to see Hassan again.
- Mood Whiplash: Inevitable, given the fact that the film is a comedy about two young men trying to deal with a horrific tragedy.
- Missing Mom: Amir's parents divorced years ago, and his mother is in America. However, they still keep in touch, and Amir wants to join her.
- The Mustache Gotta Go: To Hassan's chagrin.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Hassan deals one out to Amir on their first meeting. Since Amir feels that he deserves it, he doesn't do anything to defend himself.
- Parental Issues: Amir.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Averted - this isn't the Middle Ages, after all. Amir's father strongly disapproves of his fiancee, but tolerates her and merely discourages Amir from his relationship with her. Of course, he does try to prevent Amir from joining her in America, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish...
- Stalking is Love: Mainly because Hassan is too shy to try to talk to Maryam. He is willing to give it a try, as long as he has backup.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: You know those movies with kung fu and lots of fighting, like with Jackie Chan? Hassan doesn't like them.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Maryam notices Amir at the coffee shop, and suspects him of stalking them. Hassan loses contact through the earpiece as Amir's battery ran out, so he offers to fight Amir outside in order to ask for further advice.
- Talking in Bed: Amir and Hassan. It's that kind of movie.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Hassan's message tells Amir where to find the tickets - then tells him to hurry up and look when he doesn't immediately.
- Tomboy: Hinted at when Maryam would rather watch football than cute puppet movies.
- Unbroken Vigil: Amir, during Hassan's surgery.
- Voiceover Letter: Hassan gets a recorded message into Amir's car and his father's car from his hospital bed, while recovering from heart surgery.
