Vadim Perelman (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
127 (length)
22 January 2021 (released)
21 January 2021
Inspired by a true story should always set off alarms when it appears at the start of a film. More likely as not there is a very loose connection to the real story and what we have is a tale that a skilful writer (story by Wolfgang Kohlhaase, adapted by Ilja Zofin.) has woven out of it.
Packed on the back of a truck Gilles - a Belgian Jew - (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) swops food for a Farsi language book. This saves his life as the passengers are taken into the forest and barbarically shot. Save for Gilles who pretends to be Persian not Jewish. Its France 1942 and Gilles is taken to a transit camp where the prisoners are held made to work before being taken to Poland and the death camps.
Fortune is relative in these circumstances and Gilles is taken before Koch (Lars Eidinger) the head chef of the camp who is bizarrely looking to learn Farsi so that he can open a restaurant in Tehran after the war. Calling himself Reza he convinces Koch that he can speak Farsi with a few made up words.
It saves his life and he begins to teach the commander a few words. It works for a time but it can’t last so when he is assigned to log the prisoners’ he uses parts their names to make up words. He eventually creates a sizeable dialogue to the extent that they can have a conversation.
Not all are convinced and camp guard Max tries to stich up Reza by encouraging him to escape, which he doesn’t. There’s also another story running parallel about the monotonous life and casual cruelty dispensed by the camp staff, who gossip and back-stab like any other workplace.
As the relationship between Reza and Koch develops, Reza almost seems to be the lead, taking advantage of Koch’s arrogance and stupidity. Reza is however always the prisoner though the relationship has its use. When the other prisoners are cleared Reza is taken away for the day and in a heart-breaking scene returns to the empty camp, with nothing small reminders that there were once people there.
The Koch and Reza duet are the lynchpin of the film which is both the strength and slight weakness in that the actors give remarkable performances with their odd comedic banter and the gibberish lessons. All superb if a trifle repetitive.
Those scenes are broken up by a strong supporting cast as we see the trials and tribulations of the Nazi camp staff as they go about their mendacious business. There’s a dark, evil humour running through this lot as they gossip, date and shop each other to seniors leading to embarrassment and in one case a posting to the unfunny eastern front. It is very odd to say I can recognise some of this behaviour bearing in mind who they are and what they are doing.
Directed by Vadim Perelman, Persian Lessons covers some familiar ground regarding Nazi’s adopting prisoners. But this is an original story and Perelman takes the ludicrous premise forward without judgement letting it just flow. The horrors of the holocaust are not washed over but neither lingered on. It’s sensitively dealt with and underscores the entire film.
Persian Lessons will be available on digital 22 January and DVD 8 February