A year after her husband was executed through the death penalty, Mina (Maryam Moqadam) and her brother-in-law (Pouria Rahimi) receive word that new evidence has come to light and that Babak was wrongfully convicted of the crime.  Still in mourning, she meets Reza (Alireza Sani Far), a kind stranger, but as their friendship begins to be noticed by the community, it puts Mina’s dignity at risk.  Things are not much easier for Reza, either, who tries to keep his hidden connection to the widow a secret. 

Mogadam writes and directs Ballad of a White Cow with assistance from Behtash Sanaeeha and Mehrdad Kouroshniya.  The drama, that saw a release by Mubi, runs a little long at 105 minutes, but is a very strong effort by the team.  The film is very evocative, especially in its use of colors and composition, that makes sure the weight of the situation is felt at every moment.  It never becomes too overwhelming, though, which works simultaneously in the favor of and against the film.  The story is left at a constant simmer which never quite boils over into catharsis, so that while we never feel too weighed down by the parade of misfortunes, we also never get to breathe that sign of relief when things do conclude, either. 

In the lead role of Mina, Mogadam brings great pain and expressiveness to the character.  She is endlessly captivating to watch on screen as she navigates the tumultuous social landscape of Iran where she lives.  She is torn in many different directions: providing for her deaf daughter Bita (Avin Poor Raoufi), honoring and mourning her deceased husband, and being able to live her life as she is still quite young.  Constantly walking the tightrope, her decisions are always calculated but nothing comes without consequence, and she continually finds herself taking one step forward just to be pushed two steps back.   

Despite this, Mogadam takes control of the frame and is very captivating to watch.  The camera is very still, and often set at a distance, but it is never hidden.  Mogadem is always very aware of whose point of view the camera is adopting and colors her performance accordingly.  Early on, when Mina learns about the unfortunate mistake by the courts, the camera sits at the other end of the table as a witness to her grief but it does so from a safe distance.  Then, late in the film, there is a shot where she applies lipstick and the camera is much closer, possibly the closest it has ever been, and it is clear that this is a woman who has taken control and gained stability back in her life.  She is a far cry from the one that we saw at the beginning of the film. 

Opposite of Mogadem is Far in the role of Reza.  There is a lot more going on here than he initially lets on, and the script is very careful in how much and when it divulges secrets of Reza’s past to us.  While his performance is very balanced and plays a great foil to Mina who, through his assistance in her growth begins to deteriorate himself, the plot lines get a little too unwieldy and this is where the film suffers most in that it keeps teasing at an emotional break that it never quite achieves.  Had his various subplots been trimmed or dropped, true, the film would have lost some of the ancillary tragic moments, but it would have remained much more laser focused on Mina’s arc while still allowing for Reza’s own moral grappling.   

Given their collaborations in the past, both Mogadam and Sanaeeha have a clear desire to examine how women fit in to modern Iran which follows deep rooted ideas about what they can and cannot do in the presence or absence of a man.  It seems like low hanging fruit to compare the duo to Asghar Farhadi, but more than just location, they all are finding way to grapple with disparity that comes about when following traditions in a modern world.  While Farhadi does so using moral parables, Mogadam and Sanaeeha do so through character dramas. Ballad of a White Cow is a handsomely made film, and very well thought out. What results is a powerful film, and while it engages in conversation with life in Iran, they do not alienate the international audiences who may not be as familiar with the customs and traditions which are being interrogated.