The Sound of Silence: Culture and Culpability in Nima Javidi's Melbourne

What does it mean to be responsible, not just for one's own life, but for the life of another? When things go wrong, is it better to defer to elders, or to struggle and let oneself sink into guilt? These and more, according to Laurence Barber, are the questions at the heart of Nima Javidi's intense, introspective film, which portrays the plight of a middle-class couple living in contemporary Iran.

Additional keywords: generation, migration, class, sudden infant death syndrome, Peyman Moaadi, Asian cinema.