The Duel

Duel () is a 2004 Iranian war drama film It was directed by Ahmad Reza Darvish, who was mostly known for films about the Iran–Iraq War. Duel was shot in roughly 11 months in various cities of Iran. The first screening was at the Fajr International Film Festival, in 2004, where it won 8 Crystal Simorgh Award. Also, it is the first Iranian Movie to use Dolby Digital Sound. It is one of the most expensive independent movies ever made in Iranian cinema history. Plot Zeinal, an Iranian soldier who has been a prisoner of war for more than 20 years, returns only to see that he has been deemed a traitor. The story revolves around Zeinal and Eskanadar who both are looking for a chest containing several important documents. Cast Pejman Bazeghi as Zeinal Saeed Rad as Eskandar Parivash Nazarieh as Salimeh Parviz Parastui as Yousef Hedieh Tehrani as Hanieh Kambiz Dirbaz as Yahya Anoushirvan Arjmand as Latif Vahid Rahbani as Esmail Mehdi Saki as Assad Abolfazl Shah Karam as Mansour Ali Mardaneh as Ghasem Nasrin Seaghat Hossein Saharkhiz Mohammad Ranjbar Rahman Bagherian Tooraj Faramarzian Shirin Dejagah Abdolhossein Tosheh Hossein Afshar Mohammad Afravi Arash Sarban Sudabeh Alipour Ahmad Sarafraz Hossein Majdzadeh Abbas Asakereh Reception Variety: An invigorating men-in-war movie, with an almost "Three Kings"-like flavor, Iranian action-drama "The Duel" will come as a pleasant surprise to auds sated by either peasant dramas or arty, metaphorical fare from the region. Punchily directed by Ahmad Reza Darvish, with a real sense of the smoke, noise and chaos of battle, this smart, well-played drama deserves wider recognition through the festival circuit as an example of quality commercial cinema from Iran. Ethnic-centered webs should also take note.