Det Means Girl

This award-winning drama from Iran stars Hossein Saki as Shuan, a young man who supports himself as a cook and a security guard. Shuan’s father (Nabi Jalilian) arrives one day with his daughter Balut (Zeinab Barbandi) in tow. Balut is crippled by paralysis and in poor health, and Father hopes that with Shuan’s help they can find medical treatment that will restore Balut to health. However, with their meager financial resources, Shuan and his father are unable to do much for Balut; when the scientific treatments at their disposal fail to do the job, they resort to magic, and eventually prayer and sacrifice, in hopes of saving Balut’s life. Det Means Girl was screened in competition at the 1995 Venice Film Festival, where it won a special prize for “its acute view of life in Iran.”