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22 November 2017: Order

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Order
Sohrab Shahid Saless
1980 | 96 min | Colour | 16mm

Seemingly out of nowhere, an unemployed engineer suddenly rejects what others – his wife, friends, and presumably he himself before he lost his job – would consider a life well-lived: orderly, industrious, well-adjusted. A modern-day Bartleby, he gets out of bed one morning and decides that he "would prefer not to". Quite possibly Shahid Saless’ most personal film, but certainly his angriest, Order issues a haunting battle cry against the asphyxiating reality of middle class values. A harrowing film with lingering impact.


Part of Sohrab Shahid Saless: Exiles

Image: Copyright Bert Schmidt