Is the hero of A Hero actually a hero? For that matter, is anyone, ever? As it turns out, the answers are rather complicated—narratively, but also morally. And therein lies director Asghar Farhadi's new movie, a knotty social fable about justice and decency in present-day Iran.
When we first meet Rahim (Amir Jadidi), he's on a brief leave from prison. He's been locked away for three years because of a debt he owes to his ex-wife's brother, Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh); in the Iranian legal system, an unpaid creditor can have his debtor jailed until the debt is either paid off, or the creditor decides to forgive what is owed. At first, Rahim is on track to pay off a large chunk of what he owes, since Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldust), the woman he plans to marry, has found a purse with a sack of gold coins.
