Tag: iran

Locarno 2023 Review: Dissent and Dreams Intersect in CRITICAL ZONE's Midnight Tehran Odyssey

Iranian director Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the main award with its psychedelic portrayal of Tehran's nocturnal wanderings.

Rotterdam 2023 Review: ENDLESS BORDERS Aims For Humanism

Directed by Abbas Amini, the drama from Iran blends social melodrama and refugee thriller in an audience-driven narrative depicting a flight for freedom.

Blu-ray Review: Criterion Shepherds MARTIN SCORSESE'S WORLD CINEMA PROJECT NO. 4

Scorsese's Film Foundation once again teams with Criterion for another round of newly restored films of global significance.

Venice 2022 Review: WORLD WAR III, Slapstick Iranian Thriller Unveils Trickling Terror

Directed by Houman Seyyedi, the wartime adventure is Iran's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Review: HIT THE ROAD, Beautifully Shot, Cleverly Written, Masterfully Directed

Before watching Hit the Road, I vaguely remember reading that it was Panah Panahi's debut. Upon finishing the film, I felt compelled to double check that it was indeed his debut. I could have blamed my bad memory; but I...

LAYERS OF LIES: Ramin Sohrab Explodes Into Action In First Teaser For The Iranian Martial Arts Film

Long term readers of this site may recognize the name of Finland based Iranian martial artist Ramin Sohrab as this is not his first time in these pages. Sohrab has risen to global attention over the years through a series...

Review: A HERO By Any Other Name

Directed by Asghar Farhadi, the prickly drama from Iran stars Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, and Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy.

Opening This Week: A HERO Surprises, SEE FOR ME Thrills, THE 355 Mystifies

Also: 'Monsters in the Closet' brings forth terrors, while 'American Gadfly' documents a surprising political candidate.

Berlinale 2021 Review: BALLAD OF A WHITE COW, State's Crime, Woman's Punishment

Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha follow a widow's defiance in the shadow of the state's injustice in their latest socio-political drama.

Friday One Sheet: 3 Posters By Midia Kiasat

Muted colour palettes, silent subject focus, and angled, alienating architecture -- I thought this would be a good week to highlight the work of Iranian designer, VFX artist, director and occasional didgeridoo player, Midia Kiasat. Below are three of his...

Venice 2020 Review: Enigmatic CARELESS CRIME Pushes Boundaries of Form and Structure

Iranian director Shahram Mokri, known for his single-shot films and his decided penchant for time-loops, achieves formalistic excellence in his latest effort.

Blu-ray Review: Criterion Upgrades Kiarostami's TASTE OF CHERRY

Filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami returns to the roads of Iran on an exploratory quest about death and life.

Busan 2017 Review: BLOCKAGE Chronicles the Hard Times of a Desperate Man

Faced with losing his job and his family on the same day, a shady municipal officer in contemporay Tehran is forced to make some difficult choices in Blockage, Mohsen Gharaie’s gripping social drama.   Qasem (Hamed Behdad) is tasked with...

Sitges 2017 Review: TEHRAN TABOO, a Savage Look at the Paradox that is Modern Iran

Blunt, angry and eye-opening, Tehran Taboo offers a scathing portrait of Iran’s largest city. Think of it as Short Cuts meets Persepolis, although that facile shorthand does not begin to get at just how much is going on, plot and...

Review: DISAPPEARANCE Pits the Younger Generation Against Tehran Traditions and Prejudice

The young Iranina helmer Ali Asgari depicts the conflict of young generation with traditions veiled as coming-of-age doubling as a mild social thriller

Ramin Sohrab's VIULU Video: Remember, Kids, Violins Can Be Dangerous

The latest video from Iranian/Finnish martial artist and filmmaker Ramin Sohrab has debuted and it's smoking. Our friends at Film Combat Syndicate debuted the video, along with this description: "Sohrab plays a man on his way to play his violin...

Review: THE SALESMAN, Asghar Farhadi's Riveting Tale of Revenge and Shame

Farhadi has a real knack for portraying guilt of ordinary people. The degree of guilt he is showing might be a little too dramatic to pass as a real life. But that degree is small enough to make us uncomfortable. Deeply philosophical with human entanglements, culture, tradition, class and morality, The Salesman is a complex drama with a great narrative pull that is a richly rewarding experience.

Interview: Asghar Farhadi on His New Film, THE SALESMAN

With his latest film, The Salesman, Asghar Farhadi once again, proves his mastery in presenting complexities of human relationships within the confounds of his native country Iran, but also demonstrating that even there are political and cultural differences among us, deep down, certain things in life are constant and universal.

Watch The UNDER THE SHADOW Trailer

Babak Anvari's feature debut Under the Shadow has been earning rave reviews as it tore through the festival circuit this year. The trailer for the horror flick is here and you can watch it below.   In Under the Shadow...

Exclusive Poster Debut: UNDER THE SHADOW Looks Scary Just From This Image

We are very pleased to debut the official poster for Under the Shadow, which is freaking me out just looking at it. Written and directed by Babak Anvari, the movie burst out of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year...