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A House Built on Water

Name: A House Built on Water
Director: Bahman Farmanara
Released: 2002
Duration: 111 min

Representation Score

6.5/10

Good

2002

Director

Bahman Farmanara

Runtime

111 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Bahman Farmanara’s drama is a contemplative study of spiritual crisis that prioritizes internal psychological landscapes over traditional plot progression. It deconstructs established social and religious hierarchies through moral ambiguity. While the film provides a non-Western perspective, it lacks diverse character's ability to drive the story, focusing instead on symbolic roles for the male protagonist's awakening.

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Category Breakdown

Does A House Built on Water have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

A call girl appears in a dreamlike sequence to trigger the protagonist's spiritual crisis. She serves mainly as a narrative device and does not have her own independent role.

How does A House Built on Water portray gender?

Fair

The film critiques patriarchal dominance through the mistreatment of women by the protagonist. Female characters like the estranged wife mostly mirror the male lead's psychological journey.

How racially and ethnically diverse is A House Built on Water?

Fair

Set in Iran, the film offers a non-Western perspective highlighting differences between social classes, including the affluent and those with fewer resources.

How does A House Built on Water represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative uses a religious figure to prompt existential questions, challenging traditional family units and social hierarchies.

Does A House Built on Water include disability representation?

Fair

A comatose child introduces themes of physical vulnerability and neurological crisis. The character acts more as a metaphysical catalyst than a portrayal of living with disability.

Present on Screen

Offers a non-Western perspective highlighting Iranian social nuances.
Critiques patriarchal structures and the protagonist's cynical worldview.
Challenges traditional religious and social certainties through spiritual relativism.

Limited or Absent

Female characters lack independent roles, often mirroring the male lead.
Call girl and other underrepresented characters serve as narrative devices rather than individuals.
Disability is used symbolically rather than exploring the lived experience.

Official Synopsis

Director Bahman Farmanara's second film following a 20-year exile from his native Iran depicts the spiritual crisis of a middle-aged man. In the film's dreamlike opening scene, Dr. Reza Sepidbakht (Reza Kianian), a well-off Tehran gynecologist, thinks he runs over an angel while driving home at night with a call girl. The next morning at the hospital where he works, he is shown a comatose boy who is famous for having memorized the entire Koran. These two events cause him to rethink his cynical outlook on life and his relationships with his elderly father, wayward son, and the women he has mistreated since becoming estranged from his wife. When the boy awakens from his coma, Dr. Sepidbakht begins to look to him for answers.

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