Leila et ses frères

Where to begin... I am literally lost on how to begin describing the many groundbreaking attributes of the movie. What made me tear up over every critical scene was that nothing extraordinary happened. The movie somehow managed to include both the pace of a Hollywood movie and the realistic non-heroic (even anti-heroic) traits of European cinema.

The way the flawed heroin revolved into being an anti-heroin, a victim, a passive, an evil, and the way she crawled back into being "only human" but a blatantly frank and active rebel haunts every inch of my being.

The wholistic symbolism portraying the society it stemmed from could not execute the concepts in a better way and dialogues could not be more purposefully composed to include typical cultural moments of miscommunication, introspective vulnerability, misunderstanding, raging through.

The only thing I would change about the movie is the acting. Each character is acting their role from a previous movie which indicates that the focus was more on the plot that the directing. At points one would sense that the characters have not acquired sympathy with the role they are playing (well except for Mr. Poursamimi, he could not have done better)

It's fair to say that life could have been better, that in the scheme of things you feel like you're a debtor, always helping others out, without a curse, bad word or shout, now it's time to make a stand, be the pacesetter. An opportunity to build a brighter future, for your brothers who perpetually are moochers, just need to find the capital, 40 gold coins would fit the bill, but you'll have to play the role of party pooper.

This is a fantastic piece of storytelling, that keeps you entranced for the entirety, as Leila does what needs to be done to drag her impoverished family out of their mire by acquiring a small retail outlet to start a family business. As you'd expect, things don't quite go to plan, especially as her aging father has his heart set on becoming the patriarchal leader of his wider family, a family that seeks to take advantage of his aspirations for their own financial gain.

For the directors such as Saeed Roustaei, which their movies have the same thematic and a base storyline (which is incredible as a directing sign) is so complicated to make a same high quality movie with a different storyline and a different theme. But Saeed actually did it in the best possible way.

With having about 4 hours length, there is no way that even one part of the movie makes you feel sick or tired or bored which shows you the power of the storyline. By the way saeed must have been really grateful for having the trust of the best Iranian actors and actresses in order to give him the most powerful instrument of bringing his thoughts to reality.

The movie and the acts make you think and guess the story but it won't answer you soon. Sometimes it take more than a half hour for getting your answer and thats the point for a long movie to be acceptable to watch.

I guess Saeed tried to show the social restrictions in Iran in the clearest possible state. Without metaphors. The scenery of the worker's suppression or drinking in the wedding.

I saw the movie in the Paris, and I'm sure it will not be screened in Iran or it will be implemented with severe censorship.

BTW congrats to the cast and talented young director for making a movie which was deserved to win Palme d'Or.

"Leila's Brother" tells the story of poverty, pride and also persian social and cultural traditions. Eventhough our bright and clever protagonist - Leila experiences sexist behaviour from her parents and is constantly pushed aside, she is secretely the head of the family who keeps her relatives out of complete penury. Meanwhile her brothers are struggling with their careers and they still get more respect from their father than Leila. I found especially interesting this insight into the persian customs, where women are still treated differentely than men (e.g. When Leila couldn't attend a wedding reception because she is a woman). The story of Leila is closely intertwined with the story of her father, who is more interested in his fame and social status in the persian social ladder than the future of his own children. My opinion is that this picture represents the reality and everyday struggle of iranian men and especially women that are trying to break free from the unfair old traditions of their parents and in doing that this film makes itself valuable and also educational for non-persian audience. I must also point out the absolute stellar performance of Taraneh Alidoosti, who became the perfect choice for the resolute yet sensitive and compassionate Leila.

After the brilliant La Loi de Téhéran, Saeed Roustaee (a name to remember) confirms that he is one of the most talented filmmakers of the moment as could be a Park Chan-wook or a Bong Joon-ho. A fully mastered work from A to ZA , and above all a real actor's director with special mention for the breathtaking crowd scenes that we had already seen in The Law of Tehran and that we see again here (the strike at the factory, the wedding...).

Saeed Roustae gives us a real family fresco, tragic and brulsesque as Roustaee rightly says with an ode to the courage and wisdom of women, filmed with real finesse.

Even if most of the actors are extraordinary, Taraneh Alidoosti who is simply magnificent dominates the film (it is not for nothing that the title is Leila and her brothers).

And in addition we see Undertaker, Broke Lesnar and Randy Orton (and we are entitled to a debate on them, Triple H and Big Show being cited).

In short, undoubtedly one of the best films of 2022, and to say that it did not win the Palme d'Or at Cannes.