Vital (dir. Amir Zargara)

By: Adam Freed

There is no limit to the lengths parents will go to protect their children.  This seemingly unquestionable fact of life is explored within the compact confines of Vital, a thought-provoking emotional lightning rod of a short film from Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Amir Zargara (Saranghae, A Good Day Will Come).  Vital offers a dual setting between The United States, and Iran, a coincidental choice made prior to the current political conflict between the two nations.  An ominous opening title card informs that the sale and purchase of internal organs is only legal in one nation, Iran.  With this gruesome front-loaded information, a life and death narrative unfolds between an American-Iranian father, an Iranian mother and their respective daughters, both ailing, but stuck on opposite ends of the global socio-economic spectrum.

Short films cannot come much more gripping than Vital, an incendiary device of a story that calls into question the innumerable shades of grey that exist under morality’s vast umbrella.  At the epicenter of unthinkable choices is Fereshteh, a hard-working mother attempting to save her ailing daughter Hedieh, while simultaneously seeking stability for her son.  Having already sold one of her kidneys, Fereshteh is out of options that could result in a financial windfall powerful enough to change their family fortune.  Fereshteh represents the emotional crux of Zargara’s memorable film, a fact highlighted by the dynamic performance of Iranian actress Mahtab Servati (Once Upon a Time in Iran, There is No Evil).  Behind Servati’s eyes exists an ocean of sorrow resulting from the crushing reality that her character faces an unthinkable Sophie’s Choice.  

Despite its compact delivery system, Vital is overwhelming proof of Amir Zargara’s considerable gifts as a visual filmmaker.  The story is told in two separate hemispheres, yet there is an equal looming sense of dread created through the film’s somber visual tone.  From a daunting opening image that foreshadows the excruciating reality of the film’s outcome, to the haunting stillness of its final shot, the gravity of Zargara’s intent is multiplied moment by gut-wrenching moment.  Vital is not for the faint of heart, and yet it presents itself as essential for anyone willing to face the inequities of the world and the painstaking nature of parenthood. 

Target Score 9/10 - There is little time to process the gravity of Amir Zargara’s heartbreaking international short film Vital with only one viewing.  The magnificent result of an impressive central performance and Zargara’s keen filmmaking acumen, Vital is a short film worthy of pursuit.