There Is No Evil (2020) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Four connected moral stories examine how ordinary people confront, perform, resist, or inherit the consequences of state-sanctioned killing.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Button Behind Domestic Life

Heshmat appears to live an ordinary family life filled with errands and wedding preparations. His reluctant trip to work reveals that he operates the mechanism used to hang condemned prisoners.

Key Events

• Neighborhood Cat Rescue — Heshmat helps neighbors rescue a cat during an ordinary day. Characters: Heshmat Location: Heshmat's neighborhood
• Family Errands — Heshmat picks up his wife and daughter and visits his mother-in-law. Characters: Heshmat Location: City streets
• Wedding Preparations — Heshmat helps his wife put highlights in her hair before a wedding. Characters: Heshmat Location: Heshmat's home
• Reluctant Morning Drive — Heshmat drives to work with visible reluctance. Characters: Heshmat Location: Road to work
• Execution Button — Heshmat presses a button that hangs several condemned prisoners. Characters: Heshmat Location: Execution facility

A Soldier Rejects the Order

Pouya faces an execution order while considering his future with Tahmineh and the legal barriers created by conscription. Under extreme time pressure, he steals a rifle, restrains soldiers, and escapes.

Key Events

• Pouya Receives Order — Pouya is assigned to kill a man and seeks a transfer. Characters: Pouya Location: Military barracks
• Conscription Debate — Pouya debates service, passports, escape, and political reform with bunkmates. Characters: Pouya Location: Military barracks
• Tahmineh's Phone Call — Tahmineh presses Pouya over the phone to complete the task. Characters: Pouya, Tahmineh Location: Military barracks
• Soldier's Replacement Offer — A soldier offers to replace Pouya for money needed by his sick sister. Characters: Pouya Location: Military barracks
• Rifle Theft — Pouya steals a soldier's rifle while escorting the prisoner. Characters: Pouya Location: Execution route
• Pouya Escapes — Pouya restrains soldiers, escapes, and later throws away the rifle. Characters: Pouya Location: Military compound
• Escape With Tahmineh — Pouya meets Tahmineh and they drive away happily together. Characters: Pouya, Tahmineh Location: Country road

The Birthday Confession

Javad arrives hoping to propose to Nana, but the death of Keyvan changes the celebration. A photograph exposes Javad's role in Keyvan's execution, leading to his confession and Nana's departure.

Key Events

• Proposal at Birthday — Javad arrives intending to propose to Nana at her birthday party. Characters: Javad, Nana Location: Nana's family home
• Keyvan's Death Announced — Javad learns that Nana's family friend Keyvan has recently died. Characters: Javad, Nana Location: Nana's family home
• Ethics of Orders — Javad and Nana's mother discuss refusing unethical military orders. Characters: Javad, Nana Location: Nana's family home
• Photograph Revelation — A picture of Keyvan makes Javad realize he executed him. Characters: Javad, Nana Location: Nana's family home
• Confession and Departure — Javad confesses, Nana rejects him, and she leaves the next day. Characters: Javad, Nana Location: Nana's family home

The Father Who Refused

Darya visits Zaman and Bahram and debates the value of killing to protect animals. Zaman reveals that Bahram is Darya's real father, while Bahram explains that he separated his family after refusing an execution order.

Key Events

• Country Visit — Darya visits Zaman and Bahram and questions Bahram's career choices. Characters: Darya, Zaman, Bahram Location: Country home
• Fox Killing Debate — Darya and Bahram debate killing a fox to protect the chickens. Characters: Darya, Bahram Location: Country home
• True Father Revealed — Zaman reveals that Bahram is Darya's biological father. Characters: Darya, Zaman, Bahram Location: Country home
• Family Separation Explained — Bahram explains that he separated his family after refusing an execution order. Characters: Darya, Bahram Location: Country home
• Refusal Despite Pregnancy — Bahram says he would refuse to kill even knowing his wife was pregnant. Characters: Darya, Bahram Location: Country home

The Fox at the Roadside

Bahram's illness becomes visible during the drive to the airport. Darya sees a fox before the family returns to the car, ending the film on an ambiguous image of nonviolence.

Key Events

• Drive to Airport — Zaman and Bahram drive Darya toward the airport as Bahram suffers a coughing fit. Characters: Darya, Zaman, Bahram Location: Road to the airport
• Fox in the Brush — Darya observes a fox before returning to the car with Zaman and Bahram. Characters: Darya, Zaman, Bahram Location: Roadside near the airport

Story Breakdown

• Heshmat's Ordinary Mask — Heshmat's domestic routine conceals his role in executions.
  • Domestic Kindness — Heshmat helps neighbors and cares for his family.
  • Hidden Workplace — His reluctant workday ends with the execution button.
• Pouya's Moral Crisis — Pouya struggles between military duty, legal restrictions, and his future with Tahmineh.
  • Compulsory Service — Pouya cannot obtain a passport without completing service.
  • Pressure to Comply — Tahmineh and the soldiers debate whether he should obey.
• The Escape Decision — Pouya turns moral hesitation into direct resistance.
  • Rifle Seized — Pouya steals the accompanying soldier's rifle.
  • Road to Freedom — He restrains soldiers, discards the rifle, and escapes with Tahmineh.
• Javad's Birthday Ruin — A planned proposal is destroyed by the discovery that Javad executed Nana's family friend.
  • Keyvan Remembered — Keyvan's death interrupts Nana's birthday celebration.
  • Love Rejected — Nana leaves after Javad confesses his role.
• Darya's Family Secret — Darya discovers that the man she visits as an uncle is her biological father.
  • Hidden Parentage — Zaman reveals Bahram's true relationship to Darya.
  • Separated Family — Bahram explains why Darya was raised away from him.
• Bahram's Refusal — Bahram's past refusal to execute a prisoner defines his family history and moral identity.
  • Rejected Execution — Bahram escaped after refusing an order to kill.
  • Sacrifice and Illness — His separation from Darya and present illness shape their final journey.
• The Fox and Nonviolence — The fox debate and final roadside sighting echo the film's rejection of killing as an ordinary solution.
  • Protecting Chickens — Darya questions whether a fox should be killed to protect livestock.
  • Quiet Final Image — Darya sees a fox before returning to the car.

Directed by

Mohammad Rasoulof

Key Cast

• Mahtab Servati — Nana
• Shaghayegh Shourian — Razieh
• Baran Rasoulof — Darya
• Darya Moghbeli — Tahmineh
• Kaveh Ahangar — Pouya