The opening scenes of My Favourite Cake are the perfect peek into the life of Mahin. Mahin is a seventy year old widow of thirty years and has been living alone for the last twenty.
After a late morning start, she goes about her day watering her garden, getting her groceries and coming back home to cook it all. She then settles in with some television until the wee hours of the morning.
This cycle continues, day after day.
Filmmakers Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha have brilliantly conveyed the lonely life of their protagonist. From an almost noiseless soundtrack to the darker colour tones on screen, you can’t help but feel unnerved by her solitary existence.
Mahin’s isolation is further exacerbated by the current state of her country. While she was wearing plunging dresses and high heels in her heyday, today’s youth are harassed by the morality police because their hair is not modestly covered. In a world where couples are thrown in jail for dating, how does a reclusive, elderly widow find companionship, let alone love?
She plucks up the courage to break her routine.
As expected, Mahin is a little rusty. She has not dated before and so much of the world has changed since she actively participated in it. Her unconventional methods make us cringe but her perseverance wins us over.
Her efforts pay off as she eventually meets Faramarz, a kindly taxi driver. Their drive back to her home turns into an unforgettable evening.
Let’s be clear, the evening they have is fantastical. The likelihood of two random people having such a smooth and naturally fast moving first date is inconceivable. It is beyond belief that Mahin has met a man who is willing to thwart the religious police on the first date.
Yet, as Mahin’s smile grows wider with each passing moment in Faramarz’s company, so did mine. The chemistry between the actors is beautiful to watch. This is not a young love, fuelled by lust and infatuation. It is a heartwarming meeting of kindred spirits. They have an intoxicating growing fondness that gets you in the feels.
Lili Farhadpour is outstanding as Mahin. She is stoic, accepting of the personal sacrifices she made to raise her children. Yet there are moments where you can see the quiet rage simmering beneath the surface. When it does boil over, it manifests as a determination to live life on her terms. While the temptation to turn Mahin into an angry, vocal protestor is real, I love that Moghadam and Sanaeeha gave her a more realistic, quiet rebellion.
It’s easy to dismiss the religious policing in Tehran as a “young person” problem. My Favourite Cake reminds us that everyone was young once, and that if anything, these new times are harder for the older folk who had a different life, pre-revolution. It also reminds us that while protests give voice to struggles, that narratives of the ordinary trying to subvert the status quo are equally compelling.
My Favourite Cake opens in cinemas nationally from 5th December. You can also catch it as part of Lotterywest Films’ line up of movies at Perth Festival, from 2nd December.