Women’s sports, an occasional hotbed of controversy even in the United States, take on a stirring political dimension in “Tatami.” Opening today at Movies of Delray, this riveting thriller reveals that in Iran, to compete or not to compete can literally mean life or death.
The film is set during the 2019 World Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, where Iranian athlete Leila Hosseini (Arienne Mandi) is competing to bring home her country’s first gold medal in the martial art. An underdog in the competition, Leila wins her first two matches soundly. But word soon spreads to Iran’s sports authorities—and ultimately to its supreme leadership—that an Israeli judoka (Lirr Katz) is also winning matches, setting up a potential spar between Leila and her Jewish counterpart. In line with the Islamic Republic’s boycott of Israel, the country’s rulers demand Leila fake an injury to withdraw from the competition, forcing her longtime coach Maryam (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) to deliver the edict.
When Leila refuses to comply with the order—which would be in direct violation of Iran’s contract with the World Judo Association—the regime ramps up its intimidations, threats and underhanded tactics, including the kidnapping of Leila’s parents and the surveillance of her husband and son back home, who are forced to flee across the border for their safety. As Leila weighs the least awful option, Maryam appears equally torn but leans toward appeasement, as her family faces the mullahs’ wrath as well. When the broadcasters of one of Leila’s matches comment that she’s “fighting for her life out there,” they can scarcely comprehend its double meaning.
Co-directed by its co-star, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, and Israel’s Guy Nattiv, “Tatami” sits precariously on a knife’s edge of constant, breathless tension, its 105-minute running time racing as relentlessly as Leila’s heartbeat. As cinematographer Todd Martin’s cameras follow the player and coach through the corridors and hallways of the facility and the grueling grunts and movements of the judo competition, the movie takes on an existential heft both on the tatami and outside of it. Like in a higher-stakes version of Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby,” Ebrahimi and Nattiv place us firmly in the scrum, in a brutal ballet of blood, sweat and tears.
The decision to shoot the film in black-and-white enhances the starkness of its protagonist’s predicament. This is a movie of polarities both visually and morally. Leila knows that to do the right thing—to keep playing—means that she’ll likely become an apostate to her native country, and that she may never see her family again. But without resistance such as hers, how will the status quo ever change?
Though fictional, “Tatami” draws from recent history; in the 2019 World Judo Championships, a male Iranian judoka did in fact defy an order to withdraw rather than face an Israeli competitor, and he ended up seeking political asylum in Germany. One can only hope such boycotts are not long for this world.
In today’s political climate, it’s more than notable that “Tatami” is jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli, the first time ever that filmmakers from these battle-starved countries have shared such a credit. It’s a reminder that artists are artists, athletes are athletes, and people are people, all trying survive the authoritarian yoke of madmen.
“Tatami” opens today at Movies of Delray.
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