Life and a Day

First-Time director Saeid Roustayi captures Iranian culture, the current poverty epidemic that everyday Iranians face from a realistic standpoint. The performances, story and cinematography all allow us a realistic glimpse into this family, whose dealing with many issues. The film touches on a lot of Iranian taboos and cultural fallbacks on a surface level, and delves deep into others. The family business is struggling, one brother is addicted (solid performance from Navid Mohammadzadeh), another sister doesn't marry (big deal in iranian culture), one is divorced, and another plans to be married off to supposedly wealthy Afghan. The main character, portrayed brilliantly by Peyman Moaadi struggles to make wise business and family decisions, and it becomes taxing.

For fans of Iran's realist movement should watch this. I felt like this accurately captured Iranian culture, while also posing vital questions about the situations.

A complete drum and, in all sense, one of the best Iranian films, thanks to the dear Saeed Rustayi for making a good and lasting effect, forever and one day, a flip. It's a lie to remind us of a forgotten class. The buried class is under the rubbish of misery and poverty, and of addiction and dangers, and ....... But the most controversial and, most of all, the most golden, The dialogue is the one where Morteza said loudly to everyone: "Anyone can, and there is no shortage of lesser dogs, every time they go and get back from the dog less, less." This dialogue is tapped in the face of the audience.

Somayeh's found a way to make a leap, from the destitution her family's buried deep, it's an arrangement, there's no desire, no spark or glue or love or fire, but it takes her to a place off the scrapheap. It's a choice that causes chaos and confusion, as she's a pivotal part of the family institution, how will they cope when she has left, although they'll all feel quite bereft, but she's always made substantial contribution.

It's a wonderful piece of filmmaking with some top drawer performances that leave you under no illusion of what poverty and drug addiction can lead to. The story flows seamlessly, the dialogue is raw and realistic, as with the rest of this directors films, it drops you into a world you could hardly imagine, a world of people living on the edge.

The acting is just fabulous - I especially loved Payman Moadi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, and Parinaz Izadyar. But I have to say the story was a little too dark for my taste! Towards the end of the movie, I just wanted to bang my head into the wall! And that's why I give it 8 stars. But all in all, wow, just wow!

This is an extremely good realistic movie about a family and it's miserable members. If you don't understand Persian language, you may find it little difficult to read the subtitle and keep up the fast moving documentary style visuals at the same time. But, as the film progress, it's amazing, you will get into it completely. Each character is well defined, there is no good or bad, everything is situation driven. This is the reason I love Iranian films so much. Amazing job on the acting as well.