About Elly

There are no words to explain this masterpiece. Keeps you busy for a few days, makes you think about it, and just leaves you in awe.

The film starts with a simple plot, and ends with much more simplicity. Farhadi proves to be a real master in storytelling. He is believed to be one of the best script writers in Iran. But now he seems to be alone on top, far from his other fellow cinematographers.

The cast is great, but so is the director. No other Iranian movie has ever been as smart as About Elly in directing the actors and putting the viewer inside the locations of the film, between the act and close to the story. The camera acts as one of the key elements in the movie and the story. Without even a single note of music, and making good use of spectacular dialogs, the 2 hour journey will come to an end in a shocking way.

About Elly was honored the best film by Iranian film critics, with a sweeping 17 from 19 votes.

i didn't really know what to expect of this film so went to watch it quite blank, the cinema was packed with a mixed crowd which was promising.

i was drawn to the characters and their different personalities immediately.they were very believable and you almost felt as if you were there.

the film was very natural and the shots were nice and tidy, as a lot of foreign or arty films end up being too 'diffeent', this was easy to watch. as the plot became more complex the viewing was compelling and the director created suspense very well and built it up slowly.

the actresses and actors were really great, adding to the story's realism. as we the audience started to try and piece the mysteries of the story you just had to keep watching. i recommend it, the location was really pretty too.

i was happy to know there was a ending as a lot of foreign films end with no ending!!!! but this was satisfying however i would add that it became a little too long towards the end and some may have wanted a different ending to that chosen.

all together an excellent film to watch.

that wasn't what i expected because i thought it would be a normal film but since I've seen it, i cannot stop thinking about it...i had never seen any movie like that before.it shocked me during it and after it.i cannot put it in the words as i can't speak English well...anyway,great movie and actually great Iranian movie so far...best natural plays,best good directed film,you cannot imagine what I'm trying to say if you haven't seen it yet...i have seen all of his films and i enjoyed them a lot and all i know about him that he is a real talented and genius Iranian who0 knows what he wants and what he is about to create...i watched this movie just once but I'm gonna buy its DVD and then watch it over and over to find more the other things that i couldn't find that time.it is so hard to excite the people's emotions but he proved that if you tell the truth,it seems really easy.that was my country's reality and i cannot deny it.that's what we are gonna do and say and think if we be on that situation...thanks Mr.director,I'm proud of you so much

Based on my opinion, this movie was even better that A Saparation, an award winning Farhadi's film.

Farhadi proves adept at controlling the tone of his film. By slowly setting up the situation and the complex nexus of relationships between the characters, he lulls the audience into thinking the film will continue in a comic mode until Elly's disappearance. From then on, the film takes a serious tone. Lies come back to haunt the characters, and the consequences of these are unforgiving. Some of these lies were told due to particular proprieties necessary within Iranian society. The brilliance of Farhadi's script and direction becomes most apparent in the latter stages of the film. As one secret after another is revealed, Farhadi deftly maps out the shifts in the perceptions and behaviour of the characters toward each other as well as the viewer's perception of the characters. Farhadi's cast is uniformly excellent, especially Farahani, who compellingly registers Sepideh's shock at how her seemingly innocent matchmaking has taken such a tragic turn, as well as the way her character, like others in the film, is revealed to not be what it initially appears.

I came to see Farhadi's flick at Kerala Film Festival. It Won the best picture award Golden Chakoram there. Farhadi's sketch human interactions are so lucid. How humans react to chaos and how the manipulative nature of humans come into act in time of difficulties is clearly depicted in this film. It reveals a true fact about the body of lies used by ordinary people in their ordinary lives. We lie thousand times a week. When we are thinking about manipulations, its not only about the conspiracies by the big power houses. In fact the root of all those are present in common man. About Elly beautifully depicts how common man, including women and children uses lies and these body of lies causes to make relevant impact on their lives in changing situations.Even though film creates a tense atmosphere of chaos caused by the disappearance of Elly, at one stage delegates started laughing during the screening.Farhadi's little picture even created a satirical approach on how man makes things complicated with his manipulations. On the whole it is a good introspective into the real human nature...