My Sweet Pepper Land

A very nice film, with many good qualities.

First of all the cast: the pretty (and talented) Golshifteh Farahani and the less known but equally intriguing Korkmaz Arslan, together with several convincing actors in supporting roles. Interestingly, neither Farahani nor Aslan are Kurds (she is Iranian and he is Turkish…).

Then we have the undisputed talent of Mr Hiner Saleem (who really is Kurd), whose filmography already has gained him a well deserved fan base.

Finally, you'll see Kurdistan. The ugly, cold Kurdistan with its stony hills and gaunt landscapes. Poor, superstitious and dangerously undeveloped, with its violent attitude and undersized rides. And you won't be able to help but like it.

Best movie of the week! This marvelously shot film will probably end up in my "best of 2014" list. Hiner Saleem brings us a beautiful blend of spaghetti western and political drama, not without some witty humor and satire. Genre-bending cinema always scores high with me, especially if it has such a wonderful aesthetic. The landscapes of Eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq are magical in their desolation and fierceness. On top of the majestic cinematography and the brilliant playing on genres, the acting of Korkmaz Arslan and Golshifteh Farahani is superb and the soundtrack (including the music played on the Hang) is one that I would listen to for hours on end. The film reminded me of Tepenin ardi, a Turkish western tragedy directed by Emin Alper, which also had this wonderful aesthetic. Since I saw Tepenin ardi I realized there's more to Turkish cinema then the commercial Yeşilçam industry and the art-house master Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Hiner Saleem might do this for Iraqi cinema. Or must I say Kurdish cinema? 'Cause let's be fair: this movie breaths Kurdish sentiment and passion through all its veins; Saleem might have more in common with the Turkish Kurd Yılmaz Güney (Yol) and the Iranian Kurd Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly and No One Knows About Persian Cats). In any case, My Sweet Pepper Land is a masterful film that didn't get the attention and distribution it so obviously deserves.

"My Sweet Pepper Land" follows the formula of the classic western, with a rugged good guy trying to protect a damsel in distress from the inevitable evil rich guy. There's obviously nothing wrong with that, if that plot's good enough for Sergio Leone it's good enough for anyone. On the other hand though, this is hardly a creative film. People seem to really dig the combination of western storytelling (in various meanings) with the unlikely setting of a mountain in Iraqi Kurdistan, the movie mostly thrives on that...gimmick, for lack of a better word. You get a lot of insight into Kurdic history, a subject I knew very little about, apart from that the movie isn't very special. The plot is predictable (granted, all westerns tend to be), there's not a lot of suspense even though they're really trying, and even the standard final showdown is really more of an anti-climax. "My Sweet Pepper Land" is an interesting watch, but not always a superbly entertaining one.

Kurdish director Hiner Saleem's My Sweet Pepper Land is set in the newly autonomous state of Iraqi Kurdistan which is facing fundamental existential challenges from neighbouring Turkey, Iran and Syria as well as the local chieftains who are yet to come to terms with their newly elected democratic government and rule of law. The picture opens with a darkly comical scene involving the newly autonomous state's first legal execution by hanging of a prisoner which undergoes a muddled process.

The movie is about the struggle faced by the two protagonists - yesteryear war hero turned reluctant policeman Baran (an intense Korkmaz Arslan) and a schoolteacher striving to educate the kids Govend (a radiant Golshifteh Farahani) - at a remote village of Qamriyan on the Turkish border. Both Baran and Govend chose the remote village over lucrative careers in urban areas to escape the hounding to get married from their respective homes. The village has only two telephones and a bar/eatery named "Pepper Land" and by virtue of being on the border between Iraq and Turkey is notorious for smuggling and other illegal activities. These activities take place under the patronage of the local warlord Aziz Aga who is a powerful man and controls the village with his army of trigger-happy, lecherous goons.

The village is also steeped in conservative tradition and misogynistic ideas. Both Baran and Govend find themselves at loggerheads with Aziz Aga who wants to lord over the village and find their new ideas of rule of law and education for children as threats to his control over the village. We also see a budding romance between Baran and Govend as they stand by each other in their struggle. There is also an all-women band of armed Kurds waging war against Turkey for liberating the Kurds across the border.

What follows is an aesthetically mounted Western-esque adventure set in the breathtaking rocky remoteness of the border village. The story is set to happen in 2003, immediately after the death of Saddam Hussein whose regime had brutally oppressed the Kurdish regions and the region was given autonomy and democracy under the new establishment. While the horse riding, gun toting adventure is the mainstay of the movie, there are subtle indicators to the backwardness of the region, struggles faced by the few modernists, lack of rule of law and other challenges faced by the people inhabiting this region.

Arslan, with his an invincible and rugged looks, is convincing as the yesteryear war hero-cum-present day law enforcer, Baran who is chivalrous and enjoys Elvis, Bach and Mozart. The immaculate Golshifteh Farahani is completely natural as the modern teacher determined to bring education to the kids of the village despite the odds she has to face from her own family and the local goons. Both Arslan and Farahani share a comfortable chemistry and have a significant screen presence which aids the movie a great deal.

While by no means an epic or even an extraordinary movie, the director, Hiner Saleem, deserves plaudits for narrating an entertaining story which presents a contemporary take on the Western genre with elements of dark humour and setting it in such remote lesser known lands. The movie also boasts of some excellent technical credits including first-rate cinematography which captures the mountainous landscapes in their bleak, yet, beguiling beauty and a charming score comprising of diverse influences. My Sweet Pepper Land was presented as an entry under the Un Certain Regard category of the Cannes Film Festival, 2013 and since then, been a part of several international film festival including the Bangalore International Film Festival (BIFFES-2013).

What's the Kurdish word for 'spaghetti?' "My Sweet Pepper Land" is a classic Spaghetti Western set in a remote corner of Iraqi Kurdistan. Upright stalwart hero, distressed damsel, band of lawless ruffians to be dispatched, and, as an interesting twist, a group of well armed feminist freedom fighters who don't like anybody very much. It's a culturally interesting story, flawed by several gratuitous episodes of cruelty to animals being passed off as entertainment-- kind of wrecked the film for us. The high point was the female lead, Golshifteh Farhani (as Govend) playing a melodious Kurdish-6 pan drum. Along with the other music, that made for a much better than average soundtrack.

Although classed as a Comedy (it has its moments) at the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival, it isn't.