Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“Don’t get caught up in all this bullshit. Stick to what you know.”
Arash, a professional wrestler, is warned by his mentor to steer clear of politics and civilian protests in Iran. But if people always stuck to what they know, we’d still be living as hunter-gatherers, with minimal law, order, or progress.
Written and directed by Amir Zargara, the short film A Good Day Will Come is inspired by real events and stars Sia Alipour as the protagonist, Arash, who can use his sports career as a platform to stand with citizens against a corrupt regime—but he must weigh whether the consequences are worth it.
The short film opens with a somber scene of Arash working as a construction laborer by day, lining up to collect his daily wage. The rest of his time is spent training rigorously as a wrestler, striving to win medals for his country. His life in the spotlight as an athlete starkly contrasts with the harsh reality behind the scenes, the screenplay silently condemning the lack of jobs and dignified pay for athletes.
At about 26 minutes long, A Good Day Will Come is a poignant film with minimal dialogue but packs a powerful punch in terms of themes. A sequence in the second half, where Arash joins citizen protests in the streets, is one of the most intense moments in the film. The electric antagonism between the protesters and the riot police sent to control them is palpable. For those few minutes, I found myself clutching my head, anxious about the potential violence simmering beneath the surface.
The cinematography carries a grim tone, reflecting the anger, dissatisfaction, desperation, and helplessness of civilians under an oppressive regime. Sia Alipour delivers a subtle performance as Arash, a wrestler initially portrayed as just another bystander in the grand scheme of things. However, he ultimately chooses to step out of the shadows and take a bolder stand alongside his fellow citizens. And the price of standing up to someone powerful, is almost always too high.
While A Good Day Will Come ultimately ends in tragedy, its climactic scene is an unlikely mix of hope and despair—hope that a new generation will continue to fight for their dreams, freedoms, and rights, even when the current tide seems entirely against them.
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