La loi de Téhéran

This portrait of a fringe of Iranian society is powerful, a thriller that thwarts conventional criteria to make it a real great movie where we go through all possible human emotions. For me a masterpiece.

I was simply overwhelmed by the fierce energy of this Iranian crime movie. The story is told from two opposite points of view: one from a detective who tries to nail a drug lord, and the other from the drug lord who tries to bribe the detective. They are both relentless and messed up in their own ways, which made it hard for me to decide which character I should take sides with. Also, some scenes(for example, prison packed with drug addicts) were so real that I often forgot this was a work of fiction. Everything I saw here was chaos : no true justice, no decent laws, no good guys. Very disturbing but a powerful piece of work.

The amazing point is, the life and the society portrayed in this movie is so sad that you don't know whose side you should be taking! One minute you feel angry at Nasser the next second you feel sorry for him. Also Saeed Roustayi must have a bright future in front of him, he is such a good director.

For some time now, Iranian cinema has been stuck in a rut, a formula if you will. Recurrent themes include, but are not limited to societal problems, family issues, poverty, etc. Saeid Roustaei's second feature film following his debut, "Abad va Yek Rooz" is an attempt to break this mold.

'Metri Shes Va Nim' is the story of a police officer who is after a major drug dealer in Tehran. The movie shows how the police force follow leads and do whatever is in their power to get to top of the food chain. Police brutality, atrociously inhmane conditions in jails and the disrespect for the sanctity of life are all portrayed with grimy detail. In this respect, the movie is similar to 'The Wire' in that it gives viewers a glimpse into how sausages are made and the methodical way in which the police intimidate, coerce and trick people on their way to bringing down bad guys. This aspect of the film, which mainly unravelled during the first half, was a breath of fresh air.

The second half, however, became a bit too melodramatic for my taste. It seemed as if the plot ended up steering in the direction that many Iranian films these days take. I was hoping to follow a complex, coherent and compelling story line. Instead, to my disappointment, the plot spiraled into a loose and rambling melodrama where I felt I was being lectured on why people turn to selling drugs and how crime does not pay. While I commend the director for giving viewers a glimpse into the gritty reality of a world that is less often seen (with details that only an insider would know), I feel we have a long way to go before we can do away with the polemics and social commentary and simply focus on good story telling.

The hunt is on for those supplying all the drugs, by a police force who behave just like the thugs, as they track the felons down, hunting down all over town, before they're hooked like fish and sent to see the judge.

I thought this was a spectacular piece of filmmaking, it flowed effortlessly from start to end, the story building superbly with each subsequent piece elegantly dovetailing into the next. It leaves you with a view, albeit a cinematic one of a world of addiction, corruption and exploitation, especially of those with little to lose except their life, which depending on where you sit in the pyramid, will come at your own hands, those around you or the state. The only niggle is the unpalatable process of state executions that those in more civilised parts of the world find so disturbing.