86. The Persian Version; movie review

 

THE PERSIAN VERSION

Cert 15

107 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex references

There have been many culture crossover movies but few have handled the nuances with the distinction of The Persian Version.

This is down to the deft handling of writer and director Maryam Keshavarz, who leans heavily on her life experience.

It centres on Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a young Brooklyn woman born into a demanding Iranian family.

The likelihood of a clash with conservative parents is apparent from the opening scenes when she has sex during a party with an actor (Tom Byrne) dressed as a woman while being estranged from her gay wife.

And that is just the beginning of the complications.

The first half of Keshavarz's picture concentrates on Leila and her life woes, starting with her Iranian heritage and upbringing in America at a time when relations between the countries were so fractious.

A key element is also her relationship with her mother (Niousha Noor) who constantly carps at her life choices.

The movie's first half is set in America before it pivots to Iran in the late 1960s when Leila's mum (played by Kamand Shafieisabet) was a 13-year-old girl and married her dad in his 20s.

This is a very different but revelatory segment and delves deep into Iranian village culture.

Interestingly, despite their very different upbringing, mother and daughter have more in common than they would admit.

They both demonstrate incredible strength and a dash of self-loathing and are unwavering in their beliefs. Most importantly, their hearts are in a similar place.

How they find each other is central to a film with great pathos and a few chuckles.

Mohammadi, Noor and Shafieisabet are all excellent.

 

Reasons to watch: Pleasing culture clash movie

Reasons to avoid: A tad too earnest

Laughs: Chuckles rather than laughs

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? In 2021, more than £1.5m Iranian diaspora were living in the United States.

The final word. Maryam Keshavarz: "Having people connect with it from all different backgrounds and really seeing that that really was one of my big reasons of making it. (I wanted) people to feel like, “Oh, I know this family” and having people laugh and cry at the end." The Moveable Fest

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