Over the past century, medical doctors have often served as central characters in Iranian cinema, frequently portrayed as affluent and influential figures detached from the struggles of their impoverished patients. Bahman Farmānʾārā’s 2001 film, Khānehʾī rūy-e āb (A House Built on Water), does little to disrupt this established trope. Instead, the film delves deeply into the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by doctors in post-revolutionary Iran. At its core is Dr. Safīd-Bakht, portrayed by Rezā Kīānīān, an obstetrician and gynecologist entangled in profound personal and professional turmoil. Through its intricate narrative, the film scrutinizes the socio-economic disparities and ethical failures within the medical profession, reinforcing longstanding critiques in Iranian cinema.

The film opens with a striking metaphor of professional and ethical failure: Dr. Safīd-Bakht, driving recklessly while intoxicated and accompanied by a prostitute, collides with an angel. This surreal moment sets the tone for a series of ethically fraught episodes in his medical practice. For instance, Dr. Safīd-Bakht refuses to provide care to a destitute patient facing a complicated and potentially fatal labor, highlighting the tensions between medical responsibility and personal beliefs about family planning. In another instance, he agrees to perform a hymenoplasty purely for financial gain, enabling a woman to deceive her future husband about her virginity. Perhaps the most morally complex moment arises when he conducts an HIV test without the patient’s consent and discovers a positive result, which the patient chooses not to disclose to her future spouse. These vignettes collectively probe the intricate interplay between medical ethics and the broader socio-political context, challenging viewers to reflect on the responsibilities and moral boundaries of healthcare professionals. The film’s climactic ethical confrontation occurs when Dr. Safīd-Bakht abducts a young patient from the hospital to shield him from parental abuse.

This analysis seeks to unravel the root causes and defining characteristics of the ethical dilemmas portrayed in the film. It examines Dr. Safīd-Bakht’s navigation of these moral challenges, juxtaposing his actions against established medical ethics standards and drawing comparisons to similar themes in other notable Iranian films.