Title: Two & Two (2011)
Director: Babak Anvari
Genre(s): Short, Drama
Run Time: 8mins
Cast: Bijan Daneshmand, Ravi Karimi, Pouyan Lotfi
A student gets silenced after giving the correct answer to his teacher’s written equation.
The short film Two & Two covers themes of politics and possibly the realities of living under dictatorship rule.
In the film, the teacher writes the equation 2 + 2 = 5, clearly an incorrect answer. The teacher immediately silences the students and calls for order when they protest.
When a lone student finally refuses to change his answer to 5 despite the teacher’s numerous attempts, he gets killed.
Two & Two can mean many things for different people.
Personally, I see it as portraying the risks of standing up for the truth.
Ignorance is a tool used to keep people subjugated and under control, once the truth gets revealed people may demand justice and change.
However, if society is convinced that the lie is a truth, they will maintain the status quo.
Any individual who wishes to say otherwise is either ostracized or killed.