As a substitute for a straightforward tale, the feature is composed of multiple episodes which deals with one dimension of the themes outlined above. Whether they’re in front of a traffic officer, a school head, or even their own mother, six people stand (or sit) in front of an individual and attempt to realize a variety of aims. At the same time, an official who is seated opposite him and is quite rejecting his desire, the father who has just become the name of his son wants it to be called “David” which is why they are arguing. A young girl named Selena is more or less made to wear her new school dress which envelops the girl from head to toe just as a man who has become a father wants.
I will not deny the fact that the six people we meet in Terrestrial Verses are the most important but the very first opening scenes of the feature film illustrate the city of Tehran at the beginning of a new day. The rising sun turns the skyline into greyish and bluish hues along with the voices of people yelling over each other and traffic sounds. There are of course dramatic moments in the peculiar episode but the hand of direction seems to imply that these are parts of real life. The impression that one gets is that of a busy city of people engrossed in the task of reaching their deadlines and appointments, going about their business but are always under observation and judgement. Finally the camera itself becomes an adversary to us, for it forces us to decide what we can make of the brief scene enacted before us, with its preposterous episode and with some degree of the darker aspects of it.
In terms of narrative and visuals, the minimalist approach does fit well with the first picture. All these people have to stratagem to ensure their voices are heard, strategize to get themselves understood and strategize giving unending, and occasionally faceless answers just to make a point and come out of the confusion, If there are a few episodes that are not effective, it’s because the dynamics of power and the dynamics of resistance at the heart of one or another scene are partially obscured by the narration as a whole. One of the most striking ones is the abovementioned young girl and the change she undergoes, compelled to put on gray long skirt and beige headscarf, even headband that made her appear in one of the theatrical performances in Madonna. We admire over one such act of defiance, as she goes through the motions of her mother’s gaze waiting for her to turn towards her so that she could change back into the dress and rehearse her dancing for a little longer.
Although in “Terrestrial Verses” the theme, control, oppression and defiance is not approached in depth but it does provide some valuable observation of how one relates to the authorities in a ridiculous, annoying and tiresome manner in Iran.
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