“An anguished cry from the heart.” (IndieWire)

More than any other filmmaker, Mohammad Rasoulof has had the courage to push the boundaries of what is permissible in Iranian cinema. This searing indictment of Tehran’s theocracy and its treatment of women comes from one of the foremost critics of the regime.

Iman (Misagh Zare) is a complacent servant of the state with a comfortable place inside a rotten system. He is appointed as a judge which gives him the power of life and death, as well as a nice new apartment, and a gun to protect it all. Cracks quickly appear as he faces a generational revolt within his family and his gun goes missing. This depiction of tyranny transforms into a surprisingly taut political thriller.

The story behind the film is every bit as eventful. Rasoulof suffered imprisonment and the threat of flogging for unauthorised filmmaking. He presented the film at Cannes only after fleeing Iran on foot across the mountains.