Home Is Not a Country

Following Nima’s father to a cafe in “Baba,” the girls watch as he is greeted by name. Although social, he is tense. After others leave, Ahmed wrestles with his thoughts until another man joins and talks of his desire for a child and his plans to leave the country. Ahmed’s face falls, and Nima expects to hear his wishes to bring his family to America. Instead, in “Coward,” her father reveals his desire to leave Aisha because he does not want to be a father. Upon hearing this, anger and shame replace Nima’s adoration of her father, and in “Mama,” she swells with love for her mother and their life together.

Nima returns to her mother’s gathering of friends in “The Game.” Aisha shares names for her daughter: she prefers Nima, but Ahmed loves Yasmeen. After a debate, they play a game to decide. For each round won in favor of Yasmeen, Nima loses part of her body and vice versa. Both girls fear the prospect of dissolving entirely, so Nima kicks the tea, which spills, abruptly ending the game. Yasmeen is angry while Nima feels unsettled.

In “Quiet,” Yasmeen pulls Nima outside, and eventually, they go to the rooftop of an abandoned building on the river.