Popular reviews

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  Review by Riley ★★★

  just let those gays live i’m tired

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  Review by Sally Jane Black

  Filmed through a dull haze that renders even wide mountain vistas and sensual bedroom shots unremarkable, this story of coercive closeting (and worse) is a bitter, desiccated film that never quite achieves the nuance the story deserves. While the familiar tale of queer people in a straight, homophobic world (and patriarchal one) should be the one that has the most power, most resonance, the story that worked better was the quieter one, the one about the parents yearning for what was. What they yearn for is no ideal, no haven for their children, but there is beauty in their performance of yearning. There is emotional power there. The furtive romance their daughter engages in, the demonized awakening their son experiences, these tales feel blunt and loud and crass by comparison.

  (It's not the perspective I was hoping for.) (It's not the ending I was hoping for.)

  Pride month: 18/20
  52 project: 38/52

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  Review by kyle ★★★

  BOY does this movie have a huge development backstory! So basically, the crew and actors couldn’t film this in Iran for fear of being harassed by police/arrested, so they had to film it in Lebanon with a fake script to avoid any conflict - and they still got harassed on the last day of filming! It’s quite amazing that they were able to pull off a film like this AND get it released, fully aware that they were putting their lives at risk. Although this backstory does serve the film and make it more special, there were just too many scenes/moments of dialogue that felt unnecessary or totally detracted from the queerness in the film. The script holds up and…

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  Review by ₳ⱠØⱠ ★★★

  felt bloated with the brother's storyline, which also felt messy and rushed and not really given the time and space a story like that deserves. wish this was just about iranian lesbians and a soundtrack that bangs but alas

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  Review by Bob Hovey ★★★

  Shot in Lebanon and presented as Iranian, this film follows two teenaged girls who develop romantic feelings for each other as they experience the rebellious youth culture of drinking, drugs, western music and banned films. The true depth of their feelings are never really made clear, we presume (at least at first) that it could be just a crush or expression of rebellion or flirtation with danger ... the film simply moves forward, letting the situation play out in a series of stylish and nicely-photographed scenes.

  Is this a misplaced emphasis on style over substance? Or perhaps it's just a combination of weak writing and creative lethargy. If we are to give writer/director Keshavarz the benefit of the doubt, perhaps…

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  Review by Siena 🌞 ★★★½

  singing along to total eclipse of the heart with ur secret girlfriend? a mood!

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  Review by Bri ★★★

  The 2017 Queer Film Challenge

  Week 7: A Middle Eastern queer film 8/52

  It's not bad-I liked the hazy, warm cinematography and the two leads are fairly cute. I could have used a lot more in regards to the girls' romance though-the film often felt side-tracked into different subplots and ended up focusing too much on the brother for my liking. I admire it for daring to exist in the first place but it's one of those films that feels like an important footnote in a marginalized people's history on film rather than something that's an evocative piece of cinema.

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  Review by Poppy (Edward) ★★★

  It sort of felt like for every interesting thing there was another thing that was very ehh happened and I'm not sure how to feel about that

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  Review by Sara Clements ★★

  Truthfully...I really disliked this film much more than I wanted to.

  I applaud them for being so bold and making a film with two lesbian characters (who are adorable btw). However, their relationship/romance was lacking in substance because of so many other stories unfolding at once.

  This film was very male centric and showed just how awful men are to women in the Middle East. That's not really my issue, though, it's just how they went about showing that. I really didn't think many of the scenes were necessary and turned me off from watching the rest. Maybe aspects of those scenes really do happen in Iranian society, but I find myself being doubtful (i.e., that cab ride scene).

  In…

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  Review by JulesLarson ★★★½

  It's plenty derivative and predictable but there's an excitement about getting to make this film that's palpable. Not so much in the fan-lesbian sense, more like the opportunity to put together moments Keshavarz imagined years ago.

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  Review by Liz ★★★★

  Pride Month Day #22

  I just wanted the gays to happen :(

  
  Also that brother was a creep

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  Review by Andrea Blythe ★★★★

  Part of March Around the World – 30 Movies in 30 Days Challenge.

  Country: Iran

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  Two young women explore their love for each other while rebelling against the strictures of their lives in Tehran, Iran. The story doesn't so much focus on the specific risks of being gay in Iran, but looks more broadly at the way the society constrains its citizens, most specifically women. There's a sense of danger present even as they feel the most free, the impression that they are always being watched and judged.

  The filming is beautiful and stylish, though sometimes the dream sequences were a little confusing and a bit too much like Gucci commercials. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the subtly, the…