Under The Shadow (2016)

Under the Shadow takes place in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980’s. Shideh is a stay at home mother who lives with her husband and daughter, Dorsa. She tries to be re-admitted as a student into medical school, but is ultimately rejected from her previous years as a student who partook in rebellious activities. Her husband is drafted, and she is to care for her daughter as the war’s missles slowly encroach their apartment building. As their surroundings become more hectic, the more supernatural things become. Are the ghostly Djinn (genie) figures real, or is it just their imagination? 

The Djinn spirits take many ghastly forms, which are metaphors for the oppression that Shideh experiences in her own life. This includes her inability to be readmitted into medical school, the shrouding depression she feels from a recent family death, the loneliness of not having her husband around, and being arrested for not wearing a burka in public. She is dissatisfied with her own life, and takes her frustration out on her daughter. This is a psychological thriller that encompasses the stress of war and parenthood. Very much like The Babadook, the film addresses how tiring and difficult it is for a single parent to raise a child under difficult circumstances, and how we sometimes make the mistake of being angry towards our children. 

Overall I greatly enjoyed this film! 

Scoreboard:

Gore: 0/5

Suspense: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Overall: 10/10