ssstracener-849-976835
I have Iranian friends who experienced the cultural/political overthrow of Iran, I was advised to watch this movie by a doctor friend. He said all his Christian and Jewish friends simply "disappeared". He told me many horror stories, he finally got to the UK. Another friend barely escaped Iran after her father paid Americans to get her to Bahrain. Both of her parents died in prison. So, this film is very accurate per many accounts.
adonis98-743-186503
Prior to the Iranian revolution it was a place where people of all religions were allowed to flourish. This is the story of a prosperous Jewish family who abandon everything before they are consumed by the passions of revolutionaries. I wonder which person thought that casting Adrien Brody as a Jew with a weird accent and Salma Hayek as his wife? The film hardly finds it's mark or what it tries to achieve and honestly it's nowhere as good as it could have been or it should be especially with the talent involved. (0/10)
Nadia Marques de Carvalho
I am actually shocked at how bad the acting is in this film - I can't figure if it's the screenplay or the actual acting that slows the pace down considerably. I have read the book, which was an exhilarating read but nothing special, and being Iranian I could relate and understand the story within the context. My main issues with the film is that it comes across very insincere because it is spoken in English, phrases which would sound beautiful and more powerful in the native Persian, sound dramatic and silly, which detract from the film's earnestness. I understand if the director wants to reach an English - speaking audience, but as a British - Iranian watching non - Iranian actors speak with such a horrific Iranian accents that metamorphosis into Russian for some reason, is horrific. It is simply not credible.Naturally, Shohreh Aghdashloo's acting is impeccable as always - if anything she should have been chosen for the lead role instead of Salma. I would recommend the film 'The Stoning of Soraya M' if you'd like to better understand the social context following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
Chris Engelbrecht
Didn't think too much of it at first. But then I read some of the few reviews in here and elsewhere, and everything started to sound fishy. It ain't _that_ bad. Sure you can tell stories about the impact of religious mass hysterical envy on an entire country, suffered by decent people just because they dare to have made a bit of money under the old regime. So the Shah wasn't a bloody angel either, but you don't fight fire by pissing gasoline on the fire. In fact you should tell such stories, as this flick clearly shows. Not that I didn't already know that Ayatollah Iran is no different in hysteria from a communist regime, but this one confirms it again.This flick suddenly became important tell just on that alone. Somebody here isn't from Estonia. Or from Bulgaria. I guess some people just aren't accustomed to their selfish oppression of decent folk having a better life than themselves being called out in international movies. It's a bitch being on the wrong side of history too, innit, fana? (Lot of that going 'round in the world these days.)
AD
