Big Drum Under Left Foot

Big drum under left foot
Produced by	Kazem Masoumi
Written by	Masoud Sabbah, Dariush Mokhtari, and Kazem Masoumi
Starring	Hossein Mahjoub, Hamid Farrokhnezhad, Babak Hamidiyan, Ali Ahmadi, and Hossein Norouzi
Release dates	2004 (2004)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	Iran
Language	Persian

Big Drum Under Left Foot (Persian: طبل بزرگ زیر پای چپ‎; also known as Left Foot Forward on the Beat) is an 2004 Iranian film directed by Kazem Masoumi about the Iran Iraq war.^[1] It was entered into the 27th Moscow International Film Festival.^[2]

Plot

A group of Iranian soldiers are trapped on the frontlines, and are suffering from lack of water. Raising a white flag, one of the Iranian soldiers goes to the only spring in the region which is located between the two front lines. At that moment it is revealed that the Iraqi side has the same problem, and has also sent a man to fetch water from the spring. The Iranian group's commander is considering the situation when suddenly a mortar bomb hits just behind the Iranian front line. The commander, fearing an ambush, shoots and kills the Iraqi soldier. Subsequently, it is revealed that the Iraqi soldier was alone and that no ambush was intended. Ashamed of his actions in the light of this new information, the Iranian commander commits suicide.^[3]

Reception

The film takes a critical view of the war, opposing the majority view in Iran at the time. The film also challenges the Iranian government's propaganda which regards the conflict as a holy war. The film was banned in Iran.^[4]

Title

The title of the film refers to a command used in the Iranian army to regulate the marching of soldiers during parade.^[5]

References

External links

• Left Foot Forward on the Beat at the Internet Movie Database