The Persian Version

LOVED THIS MOVIE! It is funny- sad and -will make you cry. The entire cast is great. Looking forward to seeing more movies made by Maryum K. Loved this story and the flash back scenes for all of these characters. These strong female characters are well written. You begin to understand why they do and act the way that they do. The generational divide between daughter and mother but the similarities. Music score was great and will get your feet tapping. . Dance scenes were great to watch. You will not be disappointed. Enjoy this film with your mom-sisters or female friends. I do hope it gets recognized at The Oscars. 🏆🏆🏆 Go see this film in the theaters.

The Persian Version centers on a mother-daughter relationship, while walking through Iranian-American culture and history, family secrets, trauma, and love. While engaging, this disjointed movie starts as a comedy and then gradually amps up its depth as a drama. While the comedy and the drama are both worthwhile stories, they sit imperfectly together in this film, effectively two separate movies. And yet, for its two narratives, The Persian Version serves a love letter for the strength and resilience of immigrant women and their daughters, especially the fierce Iranian women still fighting for their rights today.

This movie is based on a very interesting story of an immigrant family and their transition from traditional Iranians to modern Americans. It is presented mostly through the eyes of a young writer, who is also the protagonist, and de facto heroine. Her life and her family's are really quite interesting and well deserve a movie to present them to others. The movie should be entertaining to those interested in the modern history of Iran, emigration to the US, and the changes within families after settling here. It's also a case study of how self involved parents can emotionally neglect their children. The acting of the mother character, both as an adult in the US and as a very young woman in Iran are strong points, and the actress acting the newly married young wife is excellent in her role.

Unfortunately, the first half of the movie is full of extraneous scenes that are more about the chaotic lives of 20 somethings than about the cultures. An example is an over-the-top female impersonator, with a British accent to boot. The overly rapid speech and unclear English diction in places were also handicaps. If you are somewhat bored during the first half, be patient, as the film gets better in the second half. Then, it starts to portray the heart of the family's story and their motivation for emigrating.

Overall, the tone looks like they took a fine story and dressed it up during filming with a lot of distractions, presumably to hold the attention of those viewers who need some fluff with their drama. By contrast, "The Quiet Girl" is also a film about a girl raised under trying circumstances, but it focuses on the story line, without much gloss. The Persian Version is like listening to a good story told by someone with ADD. You'll eventually get the story, but meanwhile you'll waste some time with their distractions.

I would have rated this higher, if the editing had focused on the heart of the story.

The writer may have been away from Iran for so long that she's forgotten the actual Iranian life. The movie is called The Persian Version, so I expected it to be relatable to the average Iranian immigrant, but it was not. The depiction of the family's life back in Iran is inaccurate, and the dancing scenes imitate Indian movies. The Iranian houses in the movie are not what typical Iranian houses look like. Their family of 9 is much larger than a classic Iranian family. Even the extent of their belief in religion and the savior did not reflect common religious Iranian beliefs.

For all these reasons I felt a disconnect throughout the movie. The idea for the movie was great, but I wish they would've worked more on their writing and accuracy.

Based on the trailer, I was expecting this film to be a light, slapstick comedy. But while it had some good laughs and humor, it is actually a very deep and layered emotional story that had me tearing up multiple times. It's an intensely personal story, focused on the tensions in a mother-daughter relationship in a cross-generational/cultural divide. As someone born in American to immigrant parents, one of the things I really appreciated about the story is how it really gives the audience a deep view into the life of the mother as a young person and how she grew up to be the way she is now, shedding much light on why she deals with her daughter the way she does...something that I think a lot of films about immigrant families kind of gloss over. Highly recommended!