Synopsis
The lives of three strong-willed women and a young musician cross paths in Tehran’s schizophrenic society where sex, adultery, corruption, prostitution and drugs coexist with strict religious law. In this bustling modern metropolis, avoiding prohibition has become an everyday sport and breaking taboos can be a means of personal emancipation.
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Cast
- Arash MarandiBabak
- Alireza BayramMohsen
- Şiir EloğluSchwiegermutter
- Zar Amir EbrahimiSara
- Klaus OfczarekFather-in-Law
- Morteza TavakoliAmir
- Gernot PolakFinance / Sex Trader
- Hasan Ali MeteJudge
- Roxana RahnamaMedical Assistant, Cultural Official
- Thomas NashJoseph
Recommendations
- 88
Slant Magazine
The film is full of astute, and poetically staged, critiques of the parallel worlds resulting from Iran's police state. - 80
The New York Times
Subtlety and aesthetic elegance — the jerky animation complements the blunt tone — are not among the film’s virtues. Tehran Taboo aims to expose systemic hypocrisy; in that respect, it is brisk and bracing. - 80
Los Angeles Times
That the film is animated, yet feels so thoroughly real, is a testament to its vivid use of rotoscoping as well as a solid script by director Ali Soozandeh, an Iranian expatriate. - 80
The Guardian
The script crackles with such bleak little jokes like this, relieving the tension in a work that could otherwise prove overwhelmingly depressing and borderline melodramatic. - 75
RogerEbert.com
Using skillful, involving storytelling and beautifully executed rotoscoped photography, director Ali Soozandeh creates a world of intersecting urban miseries and challenges. - 75
New York Post
It’s a more somber companion to Marjane Satrapi’s 2007 film “Persepolis,” which explored life under the Iranian Revolution with dark humor: Here, the laughter’s mostly a prelude to tears. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
While its frank approach is refreshing, there is a sense of too much. - 60
The Observer (UK)
The characters and plotting tend to be a little schematic, but just because the trajectories of the women’s narratives are predictable, it doesn’t follow that the story lacks power. On the contrary – this is fearless, potent storytelling.
