Without Her

Why Without Her is a Sick Joke?

By Carwan Dourandich Originally published in Mah-e Kamel-e Honar Quarterly, Issue 1

Without Her is Arian Vazirdaftari's feature-length debut, which was nominated in the Best First Film category at the 40th Fajr Film Festival. However, it did not win, as the award went to The Situation of Mehdi.

The film's central narrative follows a woman named Roya, whose ordinary life - filled with personal struggles familiar to all of us - is thrown into chaos when she encounters a nameless, unidentified girl who later takes the name Ziba. Ziba might be a con artist, but what's strange is that she doesn't even attempt to steal anything. Though she successfully keeps the mystery of her past and identity intact, Roya finds it increasingly difficult to accept her presence. Meanwhile, the young woman becomes more and more drawn to adopting Roya's role. She does not want to possess Roya's belongings - she simply takes over her life. After offering Ziba shelter, money, and trust, Roya is left in shock when she realizes that Ziba has stolen her very existence.

The film poses an essential question: Are there stories where we question our own identity to the point of confusion and uncertainty while still finding them plausible in real life?

The story of Without Her belongs to the realm of fantasy - it unfolds in a world of illusion rather than reality. In other words, it cannot exist in real life. It is not science fiction either, because sci-fi concepts often have the potential to become reality. Whether the film is fantasy or sci-fi, its realistic production design leads the audience to search for its meaning within their own reality - only to fail, because the film is, at its core, decisively unrealistic.

If there is one significant theme in Without Her, it is the idea of accidental displacement. The characters, initially resistant, are gradually forced into submission, accepting new identities as if it were inevitable. First Ziba...