Screen/Society--Iranian Cinema Series--"Bashu, The Little Stranger"

BASHU, THE LITTLE STRANGER (Bahram Beizai, 1990, 120 min, Iran, Persian with English subtitles, Color, DVD)-- During the Iran-Iraq War, Bashu, a young boy loses his house and all his family. Scared, he sneaks into a truck that is leaving the area. He gets off the truck in the Northern part of the country, where everything from landscape to language is different. He meets Naii, who is trying to raise her two young children on a farm, while her husband is away. Despite cultural differences, and the fact that they do not speak the same language, Bashu and Naii slowly form a strong bond. -- Sponsored by The Graduate Student Association of Iranians at Duke (GSAID). Co-sponsored by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies.