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.

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.

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.

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!

Perhaps you will find that in the beginning the movie has so fast dialogues. And it continues through out all of the movie. So if you are foreigner (like me ) you will find difficult to catch all from the subtitles and perhaps you will say not worth to see. But if you insist, sooner or later you will start to understand the beauty of the movie. It needs to see at least one more time to start seeing all the surrounding that you missed first time by looking at the subtitles. The characters are so good in their roles! The photography unbelievable! you will enjoy seeing it again the next day. I had years to see a such moving movie.