Synopsis
On a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Turkish worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.
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Cast
- Hossein AbediniLateef
- Zahra BahramiBaran
- Reza NajiMemar
- Hossein MahjoubSoltan
- Abbas RahimiSoltan
- Gholam Ali BakhshiNajaf
- Jafar TawakoliInspector
- Yadollah HedayatiLors workers' chief
- Parviz LarijaniShop owner
- Mahmoud BehrazniaBuilding Contractor
Recommendations
- 100
Boston Globe
Simple, but loaded. It celebrates the humanity and humanism at the heart of Iran's remarkable flow of films, but it's also more of a rebuke to materialistic values than any ideologue could ever hope to be. - 90
The New York Times
The lovely clarity of this story, which seems to have been drawn from the literature of an earlier age, is well served by the artful subtlety of the telling. Mr. Majidi prefers imagery to exposition, and his shots are as dense with meaning, and as readily accessible, as Dutch paintings. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
It's an elliptical tragedy in which the fate of its characters takes on a larger significance while never losing its intimacy. - 90
Washington Post
As in Chaplin's films, humor and tragedy dance a wonderful tango throughout the movie. Baran is heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes apart, sometimes together. - 88
Charlotte Observer
The director lingers over images, watching builders at work or Baran at her chores; the camera often seems to daydream, like Lateef. No grand climax caps the film, but the small incidents have a cumulative effect. - 80
Chicago Reader
Despite its mawkish tendencies, the film is remarkable for the naturalistic acting of its cast, particularly the simple, tenderly expressive performances of the two leads. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Can and should be appreciated as a work of delicate and unmistakable beauty. - 75
Portland Oregonian
The film is filled with fascinating, static set-ups, beautiful but never fussy or artificial.
