A hero, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night and screened at the festival again on Wednesday, has become the odds favorite to win the Palme d’Or, and a strong bet to become the Iranian entry for the Oscar for best international feature film.

Iranian writer / director Asghar Farhadi crossed out two previous Oscar winners, A separation (2011) and Seller (2016), and three times already presented in preview on the Croisette with The past (2013), Seller and Everyone knows (2018), but has yet to win an award at Cannes.

It seems almost certain to change given the response from audiences (voluminous applause) and critics (near universal delusions) to A hero, a neorealistic morality, honor and, yes, social media drama, in present-day Iran, which Amazon is slated to release in the United States in the fall.

The film centers on Rahim (Amir Jadidi), a working-class man separated from his first wife, with whom he has a young son who stutters, who spent three years in prison for defaulting on payment (the equivalent of US $ 35,625), but who is receiving a two-day leave, while he tries to reverse his fortune, but quickly finds himself caught in a web of white lies.

Farhadi has crafted a complex story that seems terribly plausible, given that each character has an appropriate justification for their actions, even if those actions collide for no one’s benefit. A separation came from an equally complex screenplay and brought Farhadi a name for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. The same result seems likely for this script. And I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a director’s name either. A hero is Farhadi at his best.

The rest belongs to Iran. The nation Between four previous Farhadi films for the Oscars – 2009 About Elly…, A separation, The past and Seller – and will almost certainly submit A hero, too, especially if he wins a grand prize at Cannes. If and when it does, the film will immediately become a favorite in the category.