Black Tape: A Tehran Diary (The Videotape Fariborz Kamkari Found in the Garbage) (2003)

Interesting high-wire experiment from Iran, bound to garner way too many comparisons to The Blair Witch Project, that consists of a video document of the dissolution of a marriage that probably wasn't that happy to begin with. The film is fairly impressive in its technical bravado and its faith in the viewing audience's ability to infer facts and fill in blanks, even as the overuse of jump cuts and overlapping sound more or less give the lie to the found-object concept. Probably could have used a tighter edit anyway (it feels repetitive and undernourished even at a mere 83 minutes, with some shots lasting way too long -- especially in the fuck-all closing minutes), but at its best it's an unnerving journey into the dark heart of a hopelessly divided society. Plus, unlike practically every other Iranian film, it's not about cute children undergoing hardship, which is a bonus in and of itself. (Those who felt queasy during Blair Witch or Breaking the Waves, however, may wish to avoid this film, which brings seasick shaky-cam aesthetics to new levels of disorientation. My mother, a woman of hearty consititution, nearly lost it.)

Grade: B-