These tales are sympathetic, and dread lurks around every corner. Panahi's heart is in the right place, but sadly little of it is very surprising. It makes the whole experience rather obvious. And this sort of structure is not novel anymore. It does allow Panahi to touch on a variety of issues, but it also strikes me as a lazy way to piece together fragments of unfinished narratives. I wouldn't call this a misstep in Panahi's career. But it is less enthralling than other works I've seen by him.

A piercing look at sexism in contemporary Iran. It's kind of surprising that Panahi managed to get this made, because whilst it is in many ways restrained and subtle it's also very clearly an attempt to expose this sexism. This is a compassionately made, well observed, fairly moving piece of filmmaking. The situation the film presents is frustrating (and rightly so).

Amazingly good. Clever plot.

I think it's a long time since I've been so absorbed in a film. It follows a couple of iranian women during a single day, and we are witness to their lack of rights (no smoking in public areas etc.). Several of the women have just escaped from prison, but to focalize on that is to miss the point - this is human beings living under severe oppression. Panahi capture the faces of these women in affectionate close-ups. There's something very humane with his glance.

great iranian movie