The Steak Short Film Review

Directed by: Kiarash Dadgar

Written by: Kiarash Dadgar - Ali Narimani

'Every frame a painting’ is a maxim that many film-makers have adhered to over the decades, and this director is no exception.

Steak is a very painterly piece, rich in symbolism. The narrative is clear and simple: a child’s birthday party is interrupted in the most horrific way imaginable. The context, only ever seen from inside the house- a brilliant narrative choice- is war and political violence.

From this premise of a child’s birthday at home in the middle of violent chaos, the film makes masterly use of juxtaposition, both narrative and visual, throughout.

Visually and sonically, the film is a feast of dualities. The colour palette is earthy and light, contrasting with the red of the stake that is cooking. The child holds a yellow balloon, a symbol of childhood and innocence, in a way reminiscent of the most well-known graffiti art in deep contrast to the noise of violence outside, a contrast almost jarring. This in turn opposes with the only noise made by a character in this film: whistling. The space of the kitchen and the action of cooking inside the house are juxtaposed to the chaos and destruction outside.

Thematically, this film speaks painfully to our times and the experiences that a growing number of children in the world are facing. Ordinary people going about their lives while violence, not of their making, rages outside is defining of this generation, in every continent. And here the lack of dialogue is revealed as a sharp creative choice, not just the simple overlap of silence inside and chaos outside, but perhaps a reference to the crushing silence to which people and society more generally is increasingly forced in the face of difficulties, injustices and, as in this piece, extreme violence- in this case perpetrated against women, by men. In particular, the exquisite 360-pan shot at the end is an inspired expression of life’s vertiginous and many times violent nature. Again in the language of contrasts, a sharp change in rhythm from the static frame beginning. An expression of the distortion piercing through this story.

There is a spiritual quality to this film. A portrayal of fragility, a sequence where security is in the heart and mind. Even if life ravages and the balloon floats away, feelings, thoughts and memories, even the simplest one like a childhood birthday, cannot be killed.