Septembers of Shiraz

Enjoyed this historical film about Iran being torn apart for it's oil. Iranians citizens did not benefit from their own oil & lived poorly. Wealthy foreigners were targeted by the revolution & robbed. A beautiful country destroyed by greed vs fundamentalism.

This movie, to me, was extremely non believable considering that it is a true story based on the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Opening, we are introduced to our location, Tehran, Iran with a gathering of people at a party. From that moment, the first thought was that the selection on actors i.e. Selma Hayek and most others, were not cast correctly as Iranian descent/Middle Eastern actors. The set, background, was so fake, I felt like I was watching, and this is very difficult to describe, a clip on "how to make a film set look real: The beginning stages." From that moment on, not one set of dialogue, as a reviewer said before me, made any sense. Nothing was played out, and the movie lacked a true plot. This is a truly discouraging and disappointing experience while watching a movie based on the true events of the Jewish/Muslim conflict during the Iranian Revolution of the time. I would not watch this movie if you are familiar with the history, a true movie buff and critic, or put off by or offended by cultural/ethnicity casting. I believe what was done here was offensive. I do also think that many will find that this is a good movie and enjoyable, however, I hope that by picking certain actors in this movie was not the CSA or Directors idea of getting it attention, as this was a real and horrifying time in history for many.

I normally don't review however, after reading some of the reviews that were poor I wanted to review this. The story is a horror story of a Jewish family escaping from the horror of an oppressive thug country. Having traveled to the Middle East and miles from Iran, having friends that went through this very scenario, this movie was hard to watch. The acting was good and I was well pleased with Adrian Brody's acting as well. Knowing what life is like there, this movie was riveting to watch and well made. Life there is a horror story for anyone that is not a zealot for the religious government. It is hard to believe that life is like this anywhere in the world today living in the west. People are treated with pure terror that are not brain washed or part of those systems. The story was well told and the acting was good. Nearly a 10 rating from me having witnessed life in that part of the world. I believe this is a good movie to watch if you don't mind suspense. I am not sure if what I have written is a spoiler but marked as such just to be safe. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see how hard life is in that part of the world. Harsh living unless you are wealthy and part of the system. If not, life is harsh at best. Jews are not likely to live at all there let alone living well today. I have a dear friend, Jewish-Persian who fled during this period and some of the depictions are spot on. Well worth watching.

This movie is a must see for all audiences. It shows to the ones that have not lived the consequences of violence either by war or revolution to innocent people. Some people criticized the film as one that tries to pass its propaganda to the viewers. I have not seen a single element of propaganda in this film. And as I have also witnessed similar conditions and events I say that the plot though based on a novel is 100% realistic and all the facts in the film could have happened there too as historical facts are easily reachable and available to any interested party to read and find out the truth. The cast is amazing. Perfect appearances by Salma Hayek, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Adrien Brody.

If you are old enough to remember the brutal history of the deposing of the Shah of Iran, this movie provides a small slice of the life during this takeover. The conversion to theocracy in Iran led to draconian measures placed on its citizens and to opportunists of the supporters of the regime to enjoy personal triumph at the cost of those who had been successful in their own lives. We should not forget that Ayatollah Khomeini was the new "god" and had usurped the Shah. His ideals were not unlike a fundamentalist Taliban ideology. The demand to follow the koran and force the end of Iranian "westernization" was foremost the demand of the new regime. The fact that our protagonist is a Jewish jeweler with considerable success under the Shah led to jealous behaviour on the part of the new guard. It also portrays some heroic moments by honest Irani citizens as they help the forsaken jewller. The movie was well made and well acted. It has a very good script and that fact alone makes for a good movie. It has thrills, tension, and suspense. It is emotional as anyone watching the movie will recognize the brutality against fellow humans and remind people to be wary of dictatorships be they a Shah or a religious figure. Hatred is hatred by anyone. The movie provides a better insight into the current Iran. Watch the movie if not for the history lesson, then because it is a good movie. Above standard at any measure.

I am actually shocked at how bad the acting is in this film - I can't figure if it's the screenplay or the actual acting that slows the pace down considerably. I have read the book, which was an exhilarating read but nothing special, and being Iranian I could relate and understand the story within the context. My main issues with the film is that it comes across very insincere because it is spoken in English, phrases which would sound beautiful and more powerful in the native Persian, sound dramatic and silly, which detract from the film's earnestness. I understand if the director wants to reach an English - speaking audience, but as a British - Iranian watching non - Iranian actors speak with such a horrific Iranian accents that metamorphosis into Russian for some reason, is horrific. It is simply not credible. Naturally, Shohreh Aghdashloo's acting is impeccable as always - if anything she should have been chosen for the lead role instead of Salma. I would recommend the film 'The Stoning of Soraya M' if you'd like to better understand the social context following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

"Septembers of Shiraz" is a well made and very well acted film...but I cannot see many people wanting to see it for several obvious reasons. First, it's about the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and a lot of people just don't find this a 'sexy' subject for films. Second, no matter how how do such a film, people will find fault in how the Revolution is handled. Third, and most importantly, the film is incredibly unpleasant with scenes of torture...and a lot of folks don't want to watch someone being tortured. All these conspire to make this a difficult film to say the least. The film begins as the Revolution is beginning. No context whatsoever is given to the viewer--nothing about the previous brutal regime of the Shah nor about the ideology of the Ayatollah and his followers. All you really learn is that the Shah was awful and the people who followed were awful. I know more about it because I am a retired history teacher...but the average viewer, particularly younger ones, will feel a bit confused. I think the reason they did this related to the second problem above...and so they apparently tried to make the film as apolitical and a personal film as they could instead. The story is about a Jewish family and their particular experiences during this time. The husband, Isaac (Adrien Brody), is arrested...though you never learn exactly why. It seems as if he was arrested simply because he was rich and he undergoes both mental and physical torture from the new Republican Guard. During this time, his wife (Salma Hayek) waits and waits and watches everything they owned get stolen from thieves...all in the name of the Revolution. Will the husband be released and what of the family? I noticed some folks complained about this film because the look wasn't just right--such as the wrong sorts of cars being shown in Iranian roads. Well...considering it was NOT filmed in Iran, and I STRONGLY DOUBT the government would have allowed this, this sort of complaint seems bizarre at best. The film was made in Bulgaria...and I guess they tried their best. I'll say no more about this. Overall, the film is very well made and compelling...and unpleasant. Because it is a story about a real family, however, I cannot just dismiss it. It's worth seeing IF you are up to the task.

This is a movie that should have been better. The Iranian revolution is interesting today because of the deal with Iran. Considering it's based on true events there are some weaknesses in the way the story unfolds. If things were so bad didn't they have any plans to leave at all? Would they bother to torture and fake shoot some simple jeweler like that? But maybe things like that really did happen in the revolution. The way he buys his way out is quite good. It is a more or less one sided story and that may offend some. However this movie doesn't need to show both sides of the revolution to be watchable. Can't put everything in one show. The acting is good. Great to see Salma Hayek on screen again. She is watchable and believable needs to act more. Shohreh Aghdashloo from House of Saddam, plays a housekeeper and she is good as always. Adrien Brody is especially convincing during the torture and in his scene with the son of the housekeeper. He is good as showing suffering and this is a role that is quite in the vein of the Pianist. The ending feels contrived and weakens the message of the story. I get it that they have to make things exciting for a movie but the escape would have been more effective without the car chase and mountain horse ride. A more realistic treatment would have been far better.

This film expertly captures what it must be like to have your life suddenly turned around into total chaos, the hopelessness, the helplessness, and the despair..." Based on true events of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Adrien Brody is notorious for diving deep into the most harrowing aspects of the human condition and his role as Isaac in Septembers of Shiraz is no different. , Isaac is tested physically, emotionally and spiritually; how far would you go to save your family? How would you react? Great emotional movie.

The only truth is that the movie is mediocre at best, regardless of the propaganda aspect. It's overwhelmingly one sided in substance and disappointing to watch, since it actually distorts the cause of certain historical events which took place. It tries too hard to focus on a single side effect of the revolution, and at a certain point, it becomes insulting to ones intelligence regardless of political views. Obviously, the reason is that it doesn't want to exposed any other detail about grievances a whole people might have had, as would be the case in any revolution. It claims to be based on true events, but those events are manipulated and exaggerated to such a degree that you walk away hating a whole people, not knowing really why... and not learning anything new.