An Iranian judo fighter and her coach receive an ultimatum from the Iranian regime, demanding they withdraw from the World Judo Championships.
Billed as the first feature film co-directed by an Iranian and Israeli filmmaker, "Tatami" features a concise and tense narrative, halfway between a sports film and a political thriller, both perfectly realized. Directed by Guy Nattiv and "Holy Spider" lead actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi (who also stars), from a script by Nattiv and Elham Erfani, the film is set during the World Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, where Iranian judo fighter Leila (Arienne Mandi) begins to outperform everyone else, except perhaps her coach Maryam (Amir Ebrahimi).
Directors: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Guy Nattiv
Writers: Elham Erfani, Guy Nattiv
Stars: Arienne Mandi, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Jaime Ray Newman
Leila's success poses a problem for the Iranian government, as it means she could face an Israeli fighter in the final. The regime considers a possible defeat to Israel humiliating for Iran, so it decides to eliminate any possibility of this happening by ordering Leila to withdraw under a pretext or deliberately leave a less politically charged match before reaching that stage of the tournament. This order initially materializes in a brief phone call with coach Maryam, but as Leila ignores the pressure and progresses through the tournament, she ends up personally threatening her relatives in Iran.
Nattiv and Amir Ebrahimi do a fantastic job of showing how complex situations, stemming from issues of social and political justice, can fuel directly exciting genre cinema. The film works well as a purely sports film, even without the added pressure of the dire situation Leila and Maryam find themselves in. The genre's time-honored standby, the coach who was once a force to be reckoned with in that particular sport—but who never quite made it—takes a natural center stage, with Amir Ebrahimi doing a superb job of showing the deep conflict the older woman feels about her own past choices, and how this fuels a complex mix of reactions.
Maryam clearly wants the best for the promising young woman, whose career prospects she must weigh against the very real danger facing both the women and their loved ones, but there's a legitimate ambiguity about exactly what her best options are. The dilemma of whether or not to back out of the big, final conflict isn't simply couched as a suspenseful narrative twist (we've all seen sports movies that struggle to make that third-act moment of loss of faith psychologically plausible), while uncertainty here lies at the heart of the larger themes about the limits of pure heroism when one or two people are up against a system.
Despite its urgent political commitment, "Tatami" is always captivating. Shot by cinematographer Todd Martin in black and white, with plenty of kinetic action from a nimble, active camera that anticipates and synchronizes the fighters' movements, these decisions help the judo footage visually become cinematic, rather than a sports documentary. The fight commentary is effectively used to offer unfamiliar audiences a straightforward tutorial on various judo protocols, and it also proves to be a handy vehicle for necessary exposition. And why not? Since real-life sports commentary also offers brief summaries of relevant biographical information, this proves a handy way to discreetly nuance the backstory.
With potential success beyond the type of audience that would typically watch a black and white, half-English, half-Farsi drama, "Tatami" could appeal beyond the usual scope of such films, and glory on the festival circuit seems assured.
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