Film Review : Until Tomorrow (2022) | OUT OF FRAME
A Desperate Search for Refuge
“Can you take care of my baby, just for one night?” Fereshteh repeats this over and over again. Until Tomorrow, a film by Ali Asgari, displays the quiet strength of a single mother, working against a conservative society and left to fend for herself. When her parents inform her of a sudden visit, she scrambles to find a place for her baby to sleep for a night. With only her friend Atefeh, they traverse the city looking for any kind samaritans willing to take her in. The scenes of the pair, one carrying a baby, the other a bag full of essentials, remind one of refugees. To complicate things, her baby is without an ID, a hidden birth out of wedlock that would be seen as a stain to both her and her family.
As she clutches her baby in her arms, desperate to protect her yet helpless in the face of her family, she turns to strangers for help. Where one would expect sympathy, she is only met with indifference or suspicion, turned away repeatedly in spite of her predicament. There’s an air of self-preservation in order to not invite trouble, sometimes condescendingly so. Even those who seem to offer their help come with hidden agendas, intending to exploit her for personal gain. It’s a worrying prospect to put her baby in the hands of total strangers, but the alternative of her parents finding out is for her, even worse. As she navigates the city, it feels like she’s branded a criminal as she tries to hide the truth from prying eyes.
A Subtle but Powerful Statement
The film isn’t necessarily a social commentary, though it certainly could be read as one. Good storytelling should always come first, and that’s what Until Tomorrow prioritises. From the narrative emerges the disillusions that the women have with a patriarchal society firmly ingrained with archaic cultural notions, from our perspective at least. Ali Asgari’s statement, as far as the film is concerned, tries to give a voice to the marginalised. It’s a protest against the unspoken discrimination, where such outcries can be quickly silenced.
Fereshteh’s iron facade does break, and it’s only then that we see the girl that hides within the mother. The vulnerable side she protects not just for herself, but especially her daughter’s sake. Torn between traditional values and a yearning to be a good mother, Fereshteh’s story isn’t new, it’s the plight of many unwed mothers who are afraid of the stigma and of being judged. Until Tomorrow presents the conundrum, not just about keeping the birth a secret, but of tackling the greater taboo associated with it.
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About the Film Critic:
Ivan Chin has a penchant for Hong Kong cinema and science-fiction films, but enjoys anything from blockbusters to the avant-garde. His favourite directors include Johnnie To, Denis Villeneuve and Stanley Kubrick. He also fervently hopes to see local films blossom. In his free time, he can usually be found wandering around cinemas.
Follow him on Instagram @lycancityfilms, and Letterboxd.
