AN EXHILARATING ‘RUNNER’ FROM IRAN

Amir Naderi’s “The Runner” (at the Fox International) would be a landmark film simply because it is the first post-revolutionary Iranian picture to be released in the United States. Happily, it is also a work of astonishing power and simplicity, reminiscent of the finest Italian neo-realist films.

It dares to suggest that for the dispossessed, life in Iran is as hard as it was under the Shah. Yet it is possible to see why the film got by the censors in Iran, for it ostensibly offers hope, extolling the implacable determination of its appealing little hero Amiro (Madjid Niroumand) to survive and even better himself, learning to read and write. Yet its stunningly ambiguous finish, involving Amiro and his pals in a foot race, is set against a blazing oil field that invites symbolic criticism of the Khomeini regime.

Dark-eyed, resilient Amiro, who looks to be about 11, joins the army of homeless youths flocking to the large industrialized port of Abadan. Finding shelter in a derelict boat, he lives hand to mouth--selling bottles tossed overboard from oil tankers, shining shoes, even peddling cold water to the dock workers. That foot race evolves naturally out of Amiro’s running for his very life or, rather, livelihood. When a man rides off on his bike without paying for his glass of water, Amiro runs after him, never flagging until he catches up with the man.

The boy is prepared to run the gauntlet for anything that is rightly his--including his self-respect. Amiro’s running also expresses his Icarus-like desire for flight; every plane flying overhead thrills him. His eyes may look old beyond his years, but he’s still capable of breaking into an occasional radiant smile of pure joy. “The Runner” is terrifically tough-minded, but also exhilarating.

“The Runner’s” waterside setting allows Naderi full rein for his strong sense of the visual. Another surprising aspect of this beautiful, provocative film is that it suggests the persistence of the once-strong, now-officially-hated American culture in the daily life of Iran.

Pepsi is still inscribed on the sides of a soda-pop street vendor’s battered old cooler. A young man wears a T-shirt advertising Lee pants, and Naderi makes fine, ironic use of American pop songs on his sound track--e.g., “What the World Needs Now (Is Love, Sweet Love),” Satchmo’s “What a Wonderful World” and Nat King Cole’s “Around the World in 80 Days” theme song. One suspects that Madjid Niroumand is not a professional actor, yet his seemingly spontaneous portrayal ranks among the finest ever given by a child.

As encouraging a film as “The Runner” (Times-rated: Mature) is, it should not be taken as a sign that the Iranian cinema as a whole is as critical and vigorous as it was toward the end of the Shah’s regime. On the contrary, the 41-year-old Naderi, who made his first feature in 1971, has emigrated to the United States and will attend the opening-night performance tonight.