Written and Directed by Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha
Starring Lili Farhadpour and Esmaeel Mehrabi

Persian language tragicomedy My Favourite Cake turned out to be a delightful and joyous slice of cinema I never knew I needed to have.

70-year-old widow Mahin (Lili Farhadpour) lives a relatively routine life in Tehran. Late starts to the day, running local errands, time in front of the television watching a soap opera while knitting, and some socialisation with a group of female friends. But she desires more. Much more. The type of more that are heavily restricted in the country she was born in and resides and won’t go unnoticed by the Morality Police. But that wasn’t always the case, of course, and Mahin also reminisces Iran of the past. So, when she meets Mr Faramarz (Esmaeel Mehrabi), who is seemingly equally enthusiastic about disregarding the rules they are meant to abide by, a connection forms as strongly as risk grows.

There were quite a few aspects of My Favourite Cake I really admired and adored. One of them being the inherent risk attached to making this project itself, risk that resulted in the filmmakers being issued with travel bans during post-production, yet despite this it never loses its carefree and infectious charm throughout. That leads me to the next thing I loved – the lead performance from both Lili Farhadpour and Esmaeel Mehrabi, but especially from Lili Farhadpour, are a true delight. As is the characterisation underpinning the 70-year-old single and ready to mingle human beings they are playing. The screenplay succeeds at uniting them in their loneliness and capturing the sheer joy being brought to them courtesy of the companionship and connection through conversation being formed in the present moment. And simply just living in that space. As blissful as this might be, there are also regular reminders that what they are doing, despite harmless and consensual, is forbidden. If they are too obvious, too loud, or even seen in each other’s company, then it is simply too late to find a way around what would invariably and inevitably come their way. This is something the film does do well too but it, as well as another development or two, also alters its tone. A tone that won’t quite strike the perfect balance for all.  

★★★★

My Favourite Cake is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from December 5th.

Moviedoc thanks Vendetta Films and TM Publicity for providing a screener link to watch and review this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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