介绍：This is an unusual film of exceptional values--75 minutes long in color, with hardly any spoken dialogs. I saw this Iranian film in Farsi without English subtitles at the Early Iranian cinema retrospective on-going International Film Festival of Kerala, India. That I was watching a print without subtitles did not make a difference as there were very few lines of spoken dialogs.　　This is a very accessible film for any audience to enjoy--its story and values are not merely Iranian, it's universal.　　The film is set in rural Iran that had not tasted petro-dollar prosperity. The setting is on fringes of desert land, where water is scarce, rainfall scanty and hardly any blade of grass is green. Add to it wind and dust that buffets and whips man and animal and you can imagine plight of the people who live on the fringes of society.　　The film is moving tale of a young teenager returning to his village with a goat--only to find his family and villagers have moved on to escape natures vagaries and that one old man remains. He gives the goat to him and goes in search of his family. Water is scarce and well water it treated with reverence and never wasted.

介绍：泰米尔那都邦南部一个偏远的小村庄Podiyankulam有一项特殊的传统：谁能从悬崖上一跃而起将对岸抛出的鱼劈成两半，谁就能拥有“镇村宝剑”（Village Sword）；选择接受该挑战但却无法将鱼砍成两半的人则会被村民斩首1997年，一位名叫Karnan的青年男子腾空而起，成了宝剑的主人。　　Podiyankulam和其隔壁的Melur村颇有宿怨，前者的村民来自更低种姓并因此常年收到压迫，故事的起因，就由一辆不愿经过Podiyankulam的巴士说起。在Melur村民的政治影响下，Podiyankulam村多次上书要求在该村设立巴士站的情愿被拒，村民们想要外出就不得去去Melur村的巴士站等候，且在等候巴士的过程中长期遭到Melur村民的欺辱和骚扰。　　数次巴士拒载事件发生后，以Karnan为首的村民砸烂了一辆在他们眼前拒载一位孕妇的巴士，此举在村民议事会上引发诸多争议，但最后村长决定全村人将共同保护为了村民利益出头的Karnan等人，出面与警方交涉。　　巴士被砸后，巴士运输公司的老板和一众警察来到Podiyankulam存兴师问罪，迫于其他村民压力，村长被迫供出Karnan等人的藏身之处。但考虑到商业利益，巴士老板决定撤诉并不再追究责任。但一位名叫Kannabiran的警长却在执行此任务时被村民们不卑不亢的态度所激怒——农民的儿子也配叫“皇帝”？并暗下决心要给Karnan一个教训。　　日后警方传唤闹事村民去警局问话，为了保护Karnan，村中几位年长的老者自告奋勇前去警局报告和签字。但Kannabiran却用棍子暴打所有老者，重伤大家后把他们仍在警察局的天台上暴晒等死。在警局外等候一日一夜的Karnan等人见形势不对，冲入警察局救出了他的爷爷和其他几位长者，并将警察局砸了稀巴烂。　　再次受辱后的Kannabiran警长调用了更多的警力计划捣毁村庄，而村民们则在长者们手上回归后意识到警察并不是因为巴士损坏而暴打他们，而是因为他们作为低种姓农民却在警察问询他们时抬头挺胸地stand tall，全村人也在Karnan的带领下决定奋起反击。　　警察如期而至，而此刻Karnan却因为收到了军队职位的录取信而在全村的劝说下已经启程前去履职。攻破村民的抵抗后，警察进入到每一个村民家打砸抢，Karnan的爷爷为了保护屋内正在生产的村妇，自焚后冲进施暴的警察中。　　不远处，挎着宝剑的Karnan策马前来，他以宝剑为武器砍倒数个警察，并将Kannabiran关进一间房屋内作为俘虏，而被俘虏后的Kannabiran警长仍然不断对Karnan口出侮辱，并威胁他如果对方敢动他一根汗毛，整个村庄将会被夷为平地。Karnan最终一剑将警长的首级砍下。　　这是一个有关荣誉、传统、正义和生命力的真实故事。

介绍：改编自Ajin Panjapan同名短篇小说，故事主要以作者前半生（二战后）生活的泰南採矿营地为背景该片曾入围第78届奥斯卡最佳外语奖竞赛单元。