The Persian Version

I enjoyed it more than i thought i would! Probably because i went in, expecting a total disaster! I'm happy that it wasn't but to be honest, this movie isn't THE BEST representation of Iranians, but it's a start!

I see a lot of people talking about the first dance scene and how it's not an Iranian dance, but i think it was not supposed to be. I personally was more concerned about the architecture of houses in Iran in this film, but they made this film in the US, i guess it was as good as they could do it.

Actors' performances were a little off, at least to me, but the casting, specifically the young versions of the main characters were right on!

The story could do a little more grooming in my opinion; there were a lot of unnecessary things that they talked about and a lot more important things that they didn't.

All in all, i am so happy that this movie was made, i think it's a start for the new generation of Iranian filmmakers to show the world what has had happened to us in the last 45 years, because they don't believe the things we say to them easily, they think we're making them up!

A child of mixed parents, from iran and murrica, leila doesn't really fit in with either culture. She's a lesbian, which is hard enough to deal with, much less when you have conservative parents. Her mother says she is shaming her father and grandfather by living this way, but as leila points out, those are just excuses... it's really mom herself who feels ashamed of her daughter. Lots of narration, which gets annoying. The main story is that dad just got a new heart, and must have total relaxation. This puts pressure on the rest of the family to bring home the bacon. Leila has even more surprises coming her way! Will she ever get to live how and where she dreamed? It's pretty good! Interesting to see things from another perspective. Although we didn't really need to spend so much time on the details of her mother's marriages and pregnancies. It's long enough already! Could have cut out about twenty minutes or more. Written and directed by maryam keshavarz, this definitely feels like someone's actual story.

I quite enjoyed this intergenerational story of an Iranian immigrant family trying to piece together their versions of the American dream and the misunderstandings that happen in between. It is essentially about the uneasy relationship between a mother and daughter; the rest of it often feels like informational dumps on Iranian culture (and heritage), but told through a lighter lens. Even in that regard, the film is fairly fun because it's either showing us vibrant frames, tackling a particular emotion, or making us chuckle. Some of it feels like flab, especially the scandal part of the mother's backstory, and it ideally should've gotten better treatment at the edit desk.

It makes all the sense in the world to appreciate certain performances, especially those of Niousha Noor, Chiara Stella, and Layla Mohammadi. While the two distinct labor room scenes have their significance plotwise, I wondered if there was any other way to put the same emotional messaging across, without them feeling repetitive. The second one comes off a beautiful moment of reconciliation indeed, and that's one reason why I wouldn't dive too deep into it. Also, the fourth-wall-breaking moments go just a tad too far. Regardless of however you perceive all of it, there's some fun to be had!

I really liked the movie. It made me laugh and cry, and I enjoyed every moment. When it ended, I missed the characters. The story felt familiar, like something from my family. The family parties from the 80s and 90s were spot-on and brought back memories. The way they showed different times in the story was cool, but I got a bit confused when it went back to the 60s. I wanted to know more about how the husband survived. Also, I didn't get why a guy from a village would go all the way to the US. Despite that, the movie had great characters and showed parts of Iranian culture and strong Persian women. It's a perfect example for other movies that women's rights and support doesn't mean picturing all men as evil monsters or negative.

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!