Los versos del olvido
The elderly caretaker of a remote morgue possesses an impeccable memory for everything but names. He passes his days showing corpses to those searching for their lost ones and tending to his beloved plants. When protest in a nearby city breaks out and the militia covertly raid the morgue to hide civilian casualties, he discovers the body of an unknown young woman. Evoking memories of personal loss, he embarks on a magical odyssey to give her a proper burial with the help of a mystic gravedigger who collects stories of the dead, an old woman searching for her long-lost daughter, and a hearse driver tormented by his past.
The film combines harsh realism with visual poetry to tell a story which transcends time and place and surpasses political, cultural and religious boundaries. In Los versos del olvido (Oblivion Verses), Alireza Khatami tells a tale about loss, memory, lost bodies and mourning. Convincing scenography and images convey a strong sense of compassion and humanity. To care for the dead as well for the living unifies us though it has come in different traditions and rituals through the history and religions of man.