Malak D. Khazai Movies

Iranian director Rafi Pitts's searing psycho-social drama It's Winter opens in wintertime Tehran, when the middle-aged Persian husband and father Mokhtar (Hashem Abdi) is suddenly laid off. Despondent, Mokhtar temporarily abandons his wife Khatoun (Mitra Hadjar), his mother-in-law, and his young daughter, and leaves the country in search of employment. Months then pass, with his family receiving no news or communication from him. During his absence, a much younger and less experienced Iranian, Marhab (Ali Nicksolat), turns up in Tehran, in search of employment as an auto mechanic. He meets Khatoun and - sensing that Mokhtar may be dead and will probably never return - courts the woman and ultimately marries her. Circumstances go completely awry, however, when Marhab acts irresponsibly by getting into an ugly dispute with his employer and is promptly fired. In a fit of rage, he decides to vandalize an automobile plant that refused to hire him. Finally, in desperation, Marhab prepares to abscond from the town (sans Khatoun) when Mokhtar unexpectedly turns up once again - and permanently changes Marhab's course. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A man turns to violence after losing those he loves most in this taut drama from Iran. Ali (Rafi Pitts) is a reformed criminal who lives in a small flat in Tehran with his wife Sara (Mitra Hajjar) and their young daughter Saba (Saba Yaghoobi). While he's grateful for the chance to support his family honestly, Ali doesn't much care for his job as a night watchman or the noise and stress of city life; Ali heads off to the woods and clears his mind by hunting as often as he can. One day, Ali comes home from work to an empty apartment; he has no idea when his family has gone, and when they don't return, he goes to the police. After a long and frustrating wait, Ali learns that Sara was killed by stray gunfire during a skirmish between protesters and police, and Saba is missing and feared dead. Ali snaps and uses his hunting rifle to kill a pair of police officers; when the authorities give chase, Ali heads to the woods while the police try to find him in the forest he knows better than the city. Shekarchi (aka The Hunter) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin international Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi