Low Heights


Low Heights is a 2002 Iranian film directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia and starring Hamid Farrokhnezhad, Leila Hatami, Amir Aghaei, Reza Shafiee Jam, and Gohar Kheirandish. It was written by Hatamikia and Asghar Farhadi.

Plot

Ghasem together with his wife Narges, his mother and other relatives takes a flight to Bandar Abbas, Iran, to get hired by an industrial company. Since the conditions of work and life are hardly satisfactory, everyone accepts the auspicious invitation. Narges is the only one who knows the true intentions of her husband. Once the plane has taken off and reached its cruising altitude, Ghasem brings out a gun, disarms the only flight marshal, threatens the pilot and requires a change of destination to Dubai. During a time in which the attackers are distracted by internal altercations, the second security guard, who till then had been taken for a passenger, leaps at the air pirate and uses the moment of surprise to maneuver him out of his gun. As the plane again takes its way to the planned destination, a new maneuver conducted by Narges succeeds in grabbing the gun and the hijackers once again redirect the plane to Dubai. Short of fuel, the plane ends up crashing into the water in the middle of nowhere.
The story is based on a true event which happened on December 13, 2000, when three members of an extended family of 23 tried to hijack a plane during an Iranian internal flight. Their actions only failed because of the timely reaction of the flight guards. The initial verdicts of death penalty and life imprisonment for the main culprits were later commuted to lengthy prison sentences.

Cast