The Patience Stone

It is said that there exists a stone that will simply listen to you. It can hold all your stories, all your secrets, and when you’re finished unloading all of your burdens onto it, it shatters. It is called patience stone and Golshifteh Farahani’s nameless character uses her husband as her own stone. With a bullet lodged in his neck after being shot in a confrontation, her husband remains in a comatose-like state where he appears to be aware of his surroundings, but cannot speak or move. Forced to take care of him while a war rages on outside of their home, she begins to open up to him like never before.

The Patience Stone is essentially a one-woman show and relies heavily on Farahani. She carries the entire film with her single-sided conversations and range of emotions. She cares for her husband like you’d imagine any loving wife would, but their relationship isn’t so black and white. She was handed off to him at a young age as part of an arranged marriage. She was actually already married to him before she even met him, which just goes to show you the cultural differences of the film. She still cares for him, nonetheless, and even puts herself in harm’s way multiple times in order to keep him alive.

At first is seems like it’s out of love for him, but after a while you soon realize that it’s only because she’s using him as a patience stone. He doesn’t talk, doesn’t show emotion; he only listens. She can finally tell him her secrets that have been hidden deep down inside her and when they finally come to light, she feels free. She reminiscences about her father, their marriage, and how they’ve grown apart. As the film progresses, the focus becomes less on him and more about her and what she wants.

Matters are further complicated when she strikes up a sexual romance with one of the local militia soldiers. Initially she is reluctant to have sex with the soldier, who believes she is a prostitute, but he reminds her of her husband in many ways as well as the complete opposite of him in others. It’s an interesting romance, made awkward by the fact that her husband is typically feet away in another room or tucked away behind a curtain.

From the cultural aspects to the sincere performances, The Patience Stone is a film experience unlike anything else you’ll see in theaters. There’s a lot to take in from it and the dialogue can be somewhat cumbersome at times but stick with it. You’ll be pleased you did.