The White Balloon
Jafar Panahi
Iran (Farsi)
1995 80 minutes
The Point Jafar Panahi presents in his film is to not give up on one owns beliefs. Raziah shows viewers this through her multiple attempts to own a specific goldfish. First beginning when Fereshteh refuses to pay one-hundred tomans for a goldfish when they have plenty at home. Raziah continues to give her mother reasons on why she needs one and even convinces her brother to talk to her. When her mother finally agrees she is directed to take the five-hundred tomans only to buy a goldfish nothing more. While on her way to the shop Raziah is distracted by a street act put on by two men. The men mistaken her money held in her fishbowl for a donation to them. Raziah is