The Queen and I (Drottningen och jag) is a documentary about personal truth and storytelling.
And Iran.
The film concerns Queen Farah Pahlavi, widow of the Shah of Iran, and Iranian filmmaker Nahid Persson Sarvestani, an ex-communist who joined the revolution that forced the Shah and his wife to flee the country in 1979. Two women on opposite sides of a very big issue; one movie.
Persson Sarvestani grew up hearing all about torture and oppression under the Shah and was happy to help end his rule. She just didn't expect the same torture and oppression when Iran became an Islamic Republic under the Ayatollah Khomeini. When mass executions began under the new regime, Persson Sarvestani's 17-year-old brother was among the dead. Ironically, she too ended up having to flee Iran, and has lived in Sweden for 30 years.
Farah Diba, 70, wife of the late Shah of Iran, is an elegant woman who is dearly loved by many exiled Iranians around the world. But not by all of them. Persson Sarvestani grew up watching the queen on television and duly noted every detail of her opulent life before she and the Shah were forced to flee the country. To Persson Sarvestani, who was one of eight children in a very poor family, the Shah's lavish lifestyle was a slap in the face of the people of Iran.
So when she decides to make a movie about Farah, Persson Sarvestani sets out with a huge chip on her shoulder. The queen is more than happy to meet a fellow Iranian exile, and the women agree to meet in Paris, where Farah has lived for some time.
At the first meeting, the queen makes her wait. Persson Sarvestani is annoyed and restless. When they finally do meet, the queen's charm is frankly overwhelming. She is sophisticated, friendly and straightforward. But then there's a hitch -- Farah's secretary has uncovered Persson Sarvestani's communist past, and it all suggests that the filmmaker has a hidden agenda. She has to convince the queen to continue filming, and she does, but it takes some months. Each woman is wary of the other.
When Farah tells her story -- how she met and married the Shah, their life together, their children, their terrible exile and his death from cancer -- The Queen and I becomes a slice of history that is fascinating to watch. But concurrent with learning about the queen's life, past and present, Persson Sarvestani also learns about herself. A stone would succumb to Farah Diba's immense charm, kindness and intellect, and Persson Sarvestani starts to change her ideas about the woman.
"I'm losing my objectivity," she worries into the camera. "I don't know what kind of film I'm making any more."
In the end, a mutual longing for their country becomes the centre of the movie.
The Queen and I is part history, part character study and part journey of self-discovery, and it's entirely entertaining. It's incredible to hear Farah's account of recent history and learn how she lives today, and it's really something to watch her win over the filmmaker through sheer force of personality.
It's a lesson in how history is written.
The film, which is in Persian with English subtitles, is bound to be a must-see proposition for the Iranian community here.
(This film is rated PG)
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