Opponent (film)

Opponent
Promotional release poster
SwedishMotståndaren
Directed byMilad Alami
Written byMilad Alami
Produced byAnnika Rogell
StarringPayman Maadi
Marall Nasiri
Björn Elgerd
CinematographySebastian Winterø
Edited byOlivia Neergaard-Holm
Music byCarl-Johan Sevedag
Jan Ekstrand
Production
companies
Ape&Bjørn
Tangy
Distributed byTriArt Film
Release date
  • 18 February 2023 (2023-02-18) (Berlin)
Running time
119 minutes
CountriesSweden
Norway
LanguagesSwedish
Persian

Opponent (Swedish: Motståndaren; Persian: دشمن) is a 2023 Swedish-Norwegian drama film written and directed by Milad Alami.[1] The film stars Payman Maadi as Iman, an Iranian man who has moved to Sweden as a refugee with his wife Maryam (Marall Nasiri) and their daughters Asal (Nicole Mehrbod) and Sahar (Diana Farzami). A wrestler in Iran before being forced to escape the country, he turns back to the sport in hopes of speeding up his asylum application by trying out for the Swedish national wrestling team, building toward the revelation that the real reason he was forced to leave Iran was that one of his former teammates outed him to the community as a closeted gay man, which carries the penalty of execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[2]

The cast also includes Björn Elgerd, Amirali Abanzad, Ahmed Abdullahi, Robin Ahlqvist, Leyla Aksoy, Anton Andersson, William Arvidsson, Helya Beikzadeh, Anton Carlsson, Ardalan Esmaili, Diana Farzami, Sevin Fidan, Anton Jalneskog, Jonatan Jednell, Tobias Johansson, Arvin Kananian and Max Karlsson.

It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards,[3][4] but it was not nominated.

Distribution

An excerpt from the film was screened as a work in progress at the 2021 Les Arcs Film Festival, where it was the winner of the TitraFilm Award.[5]

The film premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023.[6] It was later screened at the 2023 Inside Out Film and Video Festival,[7] the Seattle International Film Festival,[8] and the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[9]

Reception

Critical response

Opponent has an approval rating of 94% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.[10]

Awards

At Seattle, Nasiri received a Special Jury Prize for her performance.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Guy Lodge, "‘Opponent’ Review: A Refugee Turns to Wrestling in a Sharp, Stressful Social Thriller". Variety, 11 March 2023.
  2. ^ David Rooney, "‘Opponent’ (‘Motstandaren’) Review: Payman Maadi Brings Searing Intensity to Character Study of an Iranian Refugee in Sweden". The Hollywood Reporter, 25 February 2023.
  3. ^ "European titles submitted for the Oscars race". Cineuropa. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Milad Alami's Opponent is Sweden's Academy Award submission". Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ Elsa Keslassy, "Les Arcs’s Industry Village Awards ‘Opponent,’ ‘Silver Haze,’ ‘Marriage By Abduction’". Variety, 14 December 2021.
  6. ^ Vladan Petkovic, "Review: Opponent". Cineuropa, 19 February 2023.
  7. ^ Valerie Complex, "Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Announces Full Lineup For 33rd Annual Film Festival; Will Open With Ira Sachs’ Romantic Drama ‘Passages’". Deadline Hollywood, 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b Chase Hutchinson, "A Full List of This Year’s SIFF Winners". The Stranger, 22 May 2023.
  9. ^ Ben Dalton, "Karlovy Vary competition title ‘Opponent’ scores UK-Ireland distribution deal". Screen Daily, 3 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Opponent | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.