This is a disturbing story based on a book written by a journalist who, while passing through an Iranian village, is told of some unspeakable crimes against woman, hidden behind the structures of sharia law. It's very interesting to see how the film pans out, because the viewer knows exactly what is going to happen given the title. The film is clever in that way as it uses this to take us to a place of horror and manipulates us into fearing what we all know is coming.
The performances are mostly solid and the Director (Cyrus Nowrasteh) does a decent job of flinging us into the setting of this little Islamis community in the hills of Iran. What I had a problem with is the Westernization of the film. By that I mean adding a couple of touches (one scene in particular at the end) to the movie that presumably were included to add excitement. This had the opposite effect for me. There was absolutely no need for any added intensity. The film was gripping enough on it's own.
There are obviously some scenes of extreme brutality which were hard to watch, and knowing it's based on a true story made it even more difficult.
Overall it's a very decent, effective drama portraying how women are still treated in some parts of the world
Review by smallcloneBlockedParent2018-05-24T12:23:46Z
This is a disturbing story based on a book written by a journalist who, while passing through an Iranian village, is told of some unspeakable crimes against woman, hidden behind the structures of sharia law. It's very interesting to see how the film pans out, because the viewer knows exactly what is going to happen given the title. The film is clever in that way as it uses this to take us to a place of horror and manipulates us into fearing what we all know is coming.
The performances are mostly solid and the Director (Cyrus Nowrasteh) does a decent job of flinging us into the setting of this little Islamis community in the hills of Iran. What I had a problem with is the Westernization of the film. By that I mean adding a couple of touches (one scene in particular at the end) to the movie that presumably were included to add excitement. This had the opposite effect for me. There was absolutely no need for any added intensity. The film was gripping enough on it's own.
There are obviously some scenes of extreme brutality which were hard to watch, and knowing it's based on a true story made it even more difficult.
Overall it's a very decent, effective drama portraying how women are still treated in some parts of the world