The Traveler from the South (1997)

• 68%
• 1997
• Parviz Shahbazi

Reza, a boy on the verge of his teens, takes an overnight train from the south of Iran to visit his aunt in Tehran during a public holiday. En route, he helps an old lady recover some stolen money and jewelry, and when they reach the capital he insists on seeing her safely to the airport, whence she's flying to Germany to visit her son. Reza's selfless gesture turns into an obsessive mission. At the airport, the old lady has a mild heart attack and is eventually hospitalized, and Reza, arriving late at his aunt's, finds she's already left on vacation. Unable to check into a hotel because he doesn't have the right papers, the kid ends up sleeping in the hospital. Next day, he scurries around town trying to raise enough money to pay for the lady's operation.