“The Sweater” is a short written by, directed by, and starring Maziyar Khatam, who we last saw at Sundance in 2023 with “Baba,” an offbeat film about generational divides. That film—a drama—won ‘Best Canadian Short Film’ at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It had difficult things to say about families and was inspired by Khatam’s own relationship with his father. Therefore his latest short film, “The Sweater,”—a comedy—is a thematic departure. There are a number of themes brushed on in the film’s 8-minute run. However, it often feels like it’s juggling too many, and the film wants to use its more crass elements for laughs. Its second and last scene offer food for thought on relationships, power struggles, and self esteem; however, “The Sweater” seems more interested in the behaviors of its protagonist (Khatam) as he looks desperately for the titular piece of lost clothing.
“The Sweater” opens to Khatam’s ‘Maz’ being berated by his girlfriend, Anya (“Baba” co-director Anya Chirkova) for having too much of a mess in their bedroom. It’s common stuff; she’s upset he’s such a slob, and we can laugh innocently as Maz utters, “I don’t know, a pile just starts” and recognize, perhaps, some of our own slovenly habits growing up. The conversation ends when Anya demands he donate all of his clothes that are taking up the space. But he wants to keep one: a goofy sweater he has never worn (that we later learn his grandmother gave him) with a picture of a mushroom on it that says ‘I’m a Fun-guy.’ The couple’s relationship seems less than healthy, but Maz agrees and dumps the entire bag of clothes into a donation bin.
The Search for a Sweater
Had “The Sweater” focused on the hijinks in finding this lost item of sentimental value—without the cliched boyfriend/girlfriend dynamics—it may have been more rewarding. But that—as well as Maz’s friends Christian and Dylan (Christian Bunea, Dylan Hatton)—made connecting with Maz harder, at least for me. They are typical ‘dudes’ in every sense in the word, appalled that Maz can’t stand up to his girlfriend. They warn getting rid of the sweater is just the first step in her controlling every aspect of his life. This, contrasted with Christian and Dylan’s utter lack of interest later on, when Maz is wearing the sweater, hit in kind of sad way. They reminded me of toxic, unhappy men who love to educate others on the importance of maintaining power in relationships, not recognizing healthy relationships are built instead on mutual respect.
But I digress. “The Sweater” then branches off on a journey (short lived, as this is a short film) where Maz attempts to find the mushroom sweater. The sweater itself is hilarious; it reminds me of ones I’ve had in my closet back in the day, or any number of hysterically ‘so bad they’re good’ finds you can make at the local thrift store. A scene were Maz calls multiple thrift stores to see if they have his sweater, or another where he gets some strangers to help him climb in a bin to find it, are rightly hilarious. And an ensuing scene as Maz rips through rack after rack at a thrift store looking for the sweater reminded me of Macklemore’s riotous music video for “Thrift Shop.”
Struggles to Find its Footing
Maz makes some decisions I question here—such as commentary on the dwindling difference between men and women’s wardrobe’s ‘nowadays.’ I’m not sure if it was purposive or satire, but seemed to feed into the toxicity mentioned above in ways I couldn’t ignore. However, Maz looked happy and pleased wearing the sweater in a scene toward the film’s end, and maybe that in itself is vindicating.
“The Sweater” was hard for me to love. The search for the sweater itself is fun, but was sandwiched in between toxic people the film seemed uninterested in calling out. I think back to other indie comedies I’ve seen—such as Alexei Slater’s raucous “Ewww”—and wonder why they worked better. Slater’s antagonist was a cynical, odd misanthrope who looked down on a blind date for the film’s entire run. But I could tell it was satire and found it hysterical. But with “The Sweater,” I had difficulty piecing together its overall messages or themes, and it seemed to juggle so many. Khatam clearly tries, and the cinematography is clean and easy to follow, as is the acting. My inability to connect to any of its characters didn’t help. However, the film may appeal to people who like this style of comedy. It’s always in the eye of the beholder.
“The Sweater” will be premiering at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival from September 26th – October 6th.
