I saw this movie at the international film-festival in Gent (October '05) and to be honest: these are the kinds of movies that make you visit a festival.
Filmed without permission from the government according to Dogme principles (no artificial light, no sets, only sound when it plays at location) in the tradition of neorealism (important Italian cinema-wave of the '40s-'50s).
One night is urban road movie about One Night in Teheran. It tells the story of Negar, a young woman who works as a clerk office. One night, when she returns from work, her mother asks her to go sleep at a friends place because she expects a guest. This is where the movie starts. Negar, unable to locate her boyfriend, she decides to walk through the streets of Teheran and accepts three rides doing so. During each ride the (male) driver tells about their life, they confess things to her. The third confession turns out to be rather chocking...
Each confession (focussed on relationships and the position of women in Iran) gives a good insight in the way of living (and thinking) in Teheran. The movie moves at a rather slow pace and is very minimal (especially in the end). The three cars in the movies and the streets of Teheran are the main locations in this movie that is very dark since it is shot at night.
Personally I absolutely adored this movie, I thought it was one of the better ones of the 18 movies I saw at the Gent filmfestival in '05 and even one of the best of 2005.
Iran is consistently producing superb movies. 'Yek Shab' ('One Night') seems highly influenced by Abbas Kariostami, especially his acclaimed movie 'Ten'.
If you like minimal or would like to know more about the society in Iran then don't miss this when U have the chance to see this fascinating movie. Niki Karimi, a female director (which is not easy in the Middle-East) is undoubtedly highly talented. Shooting this movie was all but trouble free without a permit. 10/10
