The Red Ribbon continues writer/director Hatamikia's (The Glass Agency) exploration of the lasting effects of the Iran-Iraq war. In this stark allegory, three stubborn characters confront each other in a mine-riddled no-man's-land in the devastated South: Mahboobeh (Hajiyan), a headstrong, grief-crazed woman who grew up in the area; Davood (Parastooie), an embittered veteran focused to the point of insanity on his job clearing mines; and Jomeh (Kianian), an Afghan refugee whose own experience of tragedy gives him the empathy to communicate with his fellow outcasts. This is a story of war as loss and longing for what has been lost-normality, affection, roots. In the film, the red ribbon literally indicates an area safe from mines. In a greater sense it symbolizes the violence lurking beneath all relationships, the narrow path marked by prohibition lines which should not be crossed lest people, society, and the nation self-destruct.-Alissa Simon