The Molky way
2009 · 25m · España
Directed by Gonzalo Ballester
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, tender
Mrs. Molky is a 73-year-old Iranian woman, a widow for 14 years now, who lives alone in a humble house in the small town of Baragun, Iran. Molky wants to travel to Isfahan, with the excuse of visiting some relatives she has not seen in over 20 years.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
It's a *journey* film, sure, but Ballester refuses the epiphany—there's no redemptive arc waiting in Isfahan, just a 73-year-old woman and the weight of 14 years of stillness, which is weirdly radical for a premise this gentle.
A formally restrained character study that inherits the long tradition of Iranian neorealist cinema while earning its own space through disciplined observation and the architecture of small, consecutive choices that accumulate into profound tenderness.
The decision to film Molky's actual anticipation—the packed suitcase, the repeated checking, the quiet morning light—rather than the destination itself is what transforms a simple premise into something that feels lived-in and true.