Det Means Girl

 Iran, 1994, 86 minutes

 Director: Abolfazl Jalili
Cast: Hossein Saki, Zeinab Barbandi, Nabi Jalilian, Dr. Adibifar, Dr. Baham Maroufi Screenplay/Editor: Abolfazl Jalili Cinematographer: Mehdi Majd Vaziri Production Company: IRIB & Marz-e Nour Co. Distributor: Farabi Cinema Foundation Sales Agent: Farabi Cinema Foundation 

Summary

 "Every one of Abolfazl Jalili's recent films is a new experiment that stands far apart from the mainstream of Iranian cinema. Having been experimental works, those films have managed to present unique portraits of contemporary Iran and Iranians."--Film International 

In his sixth feature, Jalili uses vividly composed images reminiscent of Paradjanov to relate the story of Shwan and his crippled sister Baloot. Shwan's father brings the girl to the city where she falls into a mysterious paralysis. When conventional medical treatments fail to help her, Shwan discovers a more mystical path to his sister's deliverance.--Alissa Simon, Art Institute of Chicago 

 "Read on one level, the film is a commentary on Iranian society 'paralyzed' by social and political problems. Jalili's last film, Dance of the Dust, was banned from distribution by Iranian authorities which certainly makes the indirectness and subtlety of his commentary in Det Means Girl understandable. Originally trained as a painter, Jalili's film reads like a visual poem, and certain images are unforgettable: the young girl receiving electric shock treatment in a hospital while a woman screams behind bars; the rural workers in a communal dining hall sipping mint tea en masse like one amorphous body; jasmine flowers floating on a pond as a cow is slaughtered for sacrifice."--Hadani Ditmars, Sight & Sound 

Selected Filmography: Milad (83), Bahar (84), Gal (86), Raghs-e khak (91),