Her Eyes [Arman Goharinasab & Azade Latifkar, Iran, 2019]

An experimental short film from directing duo Arman Goharinasab and Azade Latifkar, Her Eyes shows us, mostly through the juxtaposition of various images, the contrast between nature and humanity, both of which are capable of acts of creation and acts of destruction and chaos.

For example, footage of beautiful but dangerous animals such as leopards or bears cuts to children drawing these same animals. Footage of children playing cuts to a forest fire, which then cuts to a tank. Humanity and nature, both equally capable of beauty and devastation, not so different from each other, since we are, after all, a part of nature.

These images are rendered in some gorgeous black and white cinematography that often makes interesting use of light sources, such as the sun’s rays peeking through the branches in a forest. While sound in the film is sparse, the little there is (echoing wind, children playing, kindling burning) is effective at building an atmosphere of intrigue. In particular, a gunshot in a serene woodland followed by chainsaws revving up is sudden and jarring enough to grasp your attention with both hands.

Contrast is certainly Her Eyes’ biggest element, but the film’s final image of a tank being slowly reclaimed by nature with children playing atop it suggests an uneasy harmony between the film’s three themes: creation, destruction and nature.

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'Her Eyes' was a film in consideration for Short Focus Film Festival 2019.