The Fifth Reaction - 2004
Directed by Tahmineh Milani
A recently widowed young woman, Fereshteh (Niki Karimi), is in danger of loosing her two sons to her traditional and well-connected father-in-law. When pleas to her strong-willed father-in-law do little to change his mind, Fereshteh recruits her four friends to help her carry out a daring plan that will ensure she will not loose custody of her children.
Color, 1 hour 47 minutes, Farsi
Original Title: Vakenesh Panjum
Trailer currently not available, Watch Scene (Farsi w/English subtitles)
Star Rating
No Longer Ranked
Cast
| Niki Karimi | Fereshteh |
| Jamshid Hashempour | Haj Safdar |
| Marila Zaraii | Taraneh |
| Shahab Hosseini | |
| Gohar Kheirandish | Zir Madineh |
Crew
| Writer | Tahmineh Milani |
| Director | Tahmineh Milani |
| Producer | Mohammad Nikbin |
| Director of Photography | Ali Reza Zarrindoust |
| Sound Recordist | Parviz Abnar Massoud Behnam |
| Editor | Shahrzad Pouya |
| Music | Amir Moini |
Pictures
Niki Karimi once again plays the female protagonist for Tahmineh Milani.
Fereshteh regularly meets with her friends for lunch to air their grievances about the men in their lives.
Fereshteh's father-in-law Haj Safdar (Jamshid Hashempour) does not plan on letting Fereshteh stay with her children.
Portrait of a dead husband.
Fereshteh seeks legal advice but finds that she has too few rights in the matter.
Fereshteh and her friends make a last ditch plan as her children play in the background.
Haj Safdar is well-connected and holds considerable sway in Tehran, he is not afraid to use his power to foil Fereshteh's plan.
In what may be a nod to Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry we see a Range Rover on a hill with a certain actor making a call on behalf of Fereshteh.
Indeed Homayoun Ershadi from "Taste of Cherry" plays one of Fereshteh's relatives who tries to stall Haj Safdar as he traces her path.
"Under one condition."
DVD
External Reviews
By Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times
Tahmineh Milani's impassioned and suspenseful "The Fifth Reaction" opens in a pleasant Tehran restaurant where five women, teachers on their lunch break, are sharing their problems, offering mutual support and attempting as positive an outlook on life as possible in a theocracy that makes women dependent upon men and in which they have precious few rights.
In the midst of their meal the husband of one them, who arrives with his secretary in tow, throws a major tantrum, demanding to know why his wife is wasting her time when she could be using her lunch hour to take care of things at home. It is an ugly scene, concluding with the husband being ejected from the restaurant. In time, the husband will show his remorse by presenting his wife with a Peugeot, but she as well as her friends understand that such a present is not as precious as freedom, respect or equality. Continued
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