In the Land of Brothers
“In the Land of Brothers gives insights into the casually cruel treatment of Hazara Afghan refugees in Iran.”
Title: In the Land of Brothers (2024)
Directors: Raha Amirfazli 👩🏽 and Alireza Ghasemi 👨🏽
Writers: Raha Amirfazli 👩🏽 and Alireza Ghasemi 👨🏽
Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸
—SPOILERS AHEAD—
Technical: 3.5/5
Premiering earlier this evening at Sundance Film Festival, In the Land of Brothers marks a strong feature debut by Iranian filmmakers Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi. The lyrical film takes viewers through three loosely connected vignettes, each following Afghan refugees in Iran who are loosely connected through an extended family. Each lead undergoes immense difficulties: Freshman high schooler Mohammad (Mohammad Hosseini) is coerced into unpaid labor by the Iranian Police; Leila (Hamideh Jafari) goes to great lengths to avoid using the Iranian healthcare system, lest she be deported; and her older brother Qasem (Bashir Nikzad) grieves for his son who died for Iran while fighting in Syria.
Through these tender portraits, each set 10 years apart spanning 2001 to 2021, Amirfazli and Ghasemi humanize immigrants who are all too often dehumanized by xenophobic governments. All the while, the specter of the United States’ 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, which contributed to the fleeing of millions of Afghan refugees into Iran, hovers like a shadow. Darkness envelops In the Land of Brothers, and though the film is beautifully shot with impressive performances by its non-professional actors, it’s ultimately a heartrending watch that gives the viewer very little to hold onto. The bleak message winds up feeling one-sided, with nothing but hardship for the film’s downtrodden heroes.
Gender: 4/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
Of the three protagonists, Leila is a young woman in an arranged marriage who seems generally at peace with her limited agency—not particularly happy, nor exceptionally upset, at the fact that her brother Qasem has married her off to an older businessman when she was already in love with a boy closer to her own age. But through Jafari’s sensitive performance, Leila still manages to convey a well of depth over the course of her vignette.
Behind the lens, it’s also positive to see female filmmaker Amirfazli as part of the directing-writing duo, with editor Hayedeh Safiyari ensuring the team has female perspectives. That said, the majority of the cast and creators, including the cinematographer and producers, still skew male.
Race: 5/5
In their director’s statement, Amirfazli and Ghasemi share that they’ve had to leave Iran due to the sensitive nature of In the Land of Brothers. With such a sacrifice made, it’s all the more meaningful that viewers are able to glimpse an on-the-ground story of how Afghan refugees have been, and continue to be, discriminated against in Iran.
The movie lends a humble peek into the refugees’ daily lives. Characters speak in Farsi and their own dialect, Hazaragi; they celebrate the festival of Chaharshanbe Suri, jumping over fires on the beach before Persian New Year. Furthermore, the main characters are Hazara, authentically cast with Hazara actors. As one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, they’re especially persecuted in Iran given their visible distinctness from most Iranians. (When being singled out by the police, Mohammad casually remarks to his classmates that they “look Iranian,” giving them some semblance of privilege that he, as a Hazara, doesn’t have.) With such a specific portrayal of a traditionally overlooked group, In the Land of Brothers truly stands out.
Bonus for Disability: +0.25
A supporting character, Qasem’s wife Hanie (Marjan Khaleghi), communicates with Leila and Qasem through both verbal speech and sign language. It’s positive to see signing normalized, though the film doesn’t expand on Hanie’s experience of being Hard of Hearing or Deaf, and it doesn’t explain why she both speaks and signs to people who understand sign language. And in one scene, where Hanie’s unable to hear a bureaucrat's speech that would give her crucial information, she has to rely on a Hearing person—her husband—to translate for her, and he takes advantage of that by concealing information. His reasons come from a complicated place of kindness and cowardice, but it’s still a bit patronizing, and it presents deafness as a liability rather than as a neutral or positive fact of life.
Deduction for LGBTQ: -0.50
The film mostly illustrates systemic discrimination against Afghan refugees, but in one case, a clear-cut villain can be found in Iranian Police officer Asghari (Hajeer Moradi). Asghari becomes attracted to Mohammad and subsequently preys on him, arranging situations where he’ll be alone with the teen, and—in a sickening, nerve-wracking sequence—coercing Mohammad into taking his shirt off before the scene cuts away, sexual assault implied by Mohammad’s bloody lip the next day.
Mediaversity Grade: B 4.08/5
In the Land of Brothers gives insights into the casually cruel treatment of Hazara Afghan refugees in Iran. It’s an important piece of ongoing history that audiences should be aware of, and filmmakers Amirfazli and Ghasemi resolutely bring this issue to life, aided by impressive work by non-professional actors in leading roles. It’s just a shame that the film is so relentlessly bleak, with a focus on hardship that perhaps overpowers the resilience and joy that can still be found in the most difficult lives.
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