The trickle of daily irritations endured by the lowly pizza deliveryman at the center of Jafar Panahi's new drama, CRIMSON GOLD, are in and of themselves almost unnoticeable: little digs, small slights of disrespect, tiny pinpricks of hypocrisy. The damage to pride and self-worth that these small moments do individually is minimal; as they accumulate, however, their power becomes a social furnace for rage that ultimately explodes. In the hands of renowned Iranian artists Panahi (The White Balloon) and his screenwriter Abbas Kiarostami (director of A Taste of Cherry), the slow-burning fire of life's indignities becomes a riveting touchstone to explore class and economic warfare. Like cinema's classic tales of social alienation Taxi Driver and Falling Down, CRIMSON GOLD finds a universality in the difficulties of social interaction; unlike those films, however, Panahi and Kiarostami add an incisive meta-level -- a damning critique of social stratification and the dangerous repercussions of stepping outside the social contract.

Detailing a few days in the life of Hussein (Hussein Emadeddin), CRIMSON GOLD simmers before it boils. Hussein is a quiet, stoic man, shuffling daily between his tiny apartment and his delivery job, soon to be married to the sister of his best friend Ali (Kamyar Sheissi). Like most men, Hussein is concerned about his place in the world, and the future he can provide his bride. After Ali finds (or possibly steals) a purse, he and Hussein find a gold ring inside with a receipt; the two visit the jeweler where the ring was purchased, but are turned away because of their lower-class appearance...and further insulted by the shop owner, who suggests they go to the local bazaar for jewelry they can afford.

Count this as the first pinprick. On his delivery route, Hussein encounters many more: a old colleague won't talk to him publicly; he is detained by a police force trying to arrest partygoers in a building Hussein needs to deliver pizzas to (albeit on another floor); a rich man says he needs some air, and when a breeze appears, it seems that even Nature itself answers the call of the wealthy. The film's most potent scene is at an elegant apartment house, where a rich, spoiled young man invites Hussein in. The regal opulence of the apartment dazzles...and, simultaneously, shames Hussein. Panahi captures his heartbreaking pain in two wordless sequences: one in the bathroom where Hussein tries to clean himself, feeling unworthy of his surroundings, and the second, on a silent, magisterial tour of the apartment, which ends with Hussein on the deck, looking out across Tehran...and silently crumbling inside. He recognizes the superficiality of wealth, but also its intoxication. It is tempting, but unattainable...a savage combination that inspires a final, desperate act of violence. The small taste of luxury is too much to bear.

Hussein's self-deprecating humor is initially charming, but over time it reveals a pervasive sense of inadequacy and impotence. His anger is less incendiary than Travis Bickle's and less articulated than William Foster's, unlike those two broken men, Hussein's reserved personality will not allow the feelings to be purged. As they compound and fester, CRIMSON GOLD reaches a combustible climax...turning the film into a muted plea for social reform and the importance of human dignity.

As successful as the film may be politically, it is less so cinematically. CRIMSON GOLD sputters and starts through its first hour; metaphorical arguments about the haves and have-nots connect only tangentially to the events at hand, including one head-scratching scene in a local tea house with a stranger (Ehsan Amani). It also takes a while for Emadeddin to warm up to the acting challenge -- struggling to find the appropriate balance between pathos and humor, his scenes often come off as a bit distant. While Sheissi turns Ali into a surprisingly developed sidekick, Azita Rayeji is unable to come up with much to do as Hussein's bride. The static, Dogme-like cinematography by Hossain Jafarian helps us see the emotion behind the eyes of the characters, but unfortunately it has a muddying effect as well, diminishing the visceral impact of any actions the characters take.

CRIMSON GOLD has already won the Un Certain Regard Jury Award from the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, and the Gold Hugo for Best Film at the Chicago Film Festival. Whether it continues to captivate audiences depends on both audience interest in the theme -- the frustrating powerlessness of the individual -- and the climate of world events. (After being detained against his will as a terrorist suspect at New York's Kennedy Airport, Pahani returned his 2001 Freedom of _Expression Award from the National Board of Review in protest. He has not returned to the United States since, due to its fingerprinting requirement for Iranian nationals.) The plight of the Everyman is in peril these days; CRIMSON GOLD gives us a reminder of his precariousness.

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