La fête du feu

A really engaging early film from Farhadi. Many of the themes he's become known for of course make an appearance here, namely those of family, mistrust, home, neighbours, honour, divorce, children trapped between fighting parents, modernity v tradition, rich and liberal v modest and conservative. Unlike the Salesman (2016) though and the Past (2013) there is a fair bit of humour here though mainly coming from our sweet natured cheerful protagonist and her unworldly ways. As a young working-class girl with an idealistic view of her coming marriage to her finance she finds herself in for a shock when she meets the highly strung neurotic rich lady she's to clean for. Her dysfunctional marriage becomes the centre of the plot, though we explore this world through our protagonist innocent eyes. Is the lady paranoid in her fears about her husband or is she right to worry? Fireworks and firecrackers are present throughout unnervingly snapping and exploding throughout the long tense day.

The real strength of the director is unpacking information slowly to keep the audience hocked, withholding things to keep us intrigued, every single shot in this film somehow holds your attention, he takes the mundane and packs it full of detail,. The cinematography also gives it a cool, subdued look with a slightly sickly colour, very pasty but perfect for its tone. The score isn't that noticeable which is how I think a drama film like this should be. The acting is so strong you quickly forget it's happening. Another superb strength is how the characters are feel like real fleshed out people struggling with their personal troubles, their actions all feel real and never contrived, nobody is perfect as they say. I could watch this again and again. The Iranian language and culture also give it an exotic foreign touch.

One of the best Iranian movies ever! chaharshanbe-soori is about love,family and truth.Mojde,a housewife,suspects his husband of having affair with a woman next door.A young girl who is going to get married comes to their home for cleaning and gets involved in their problem.Like people who are watching the movie,she thinks the husband is innocent and helps him to win the fight against his wife.All these events, take place in chaharshanbe-soori,an old Iranian ceremony.Movie has got excellent acting,Hedie Tehrani is unforgettable,and excellent directing by Asghar Farhadi.One of those movies that stick in your mind for ever!

With gripping, tightly structured screenplay covering themes of marriage, lies, deception, and infidelity, superbly shot and brilliantly directed with so much depth and nuances to bring out the most impressive performances out of its cast, 'Fireworks Wednesday' is another testament of Asghar Farhadi as a master of story-telling.

It's the last Wednesday of the Iranian new year and in the old Persian tradition kids and adults alike take to fireworks in the streets. Meanwhile in a block of apartments all forms of human emotions are on display. Mojdeh suspects that her husband is having an affair with the hairdresser in the flat next door. She feels cheated and isolated and on the eve of their departure to another country, she is having a total breakdown. A young girl who, on the eve of her marriage, has come to earn some money by house cleaning in Mojde's flat, becomes a pawn in a game of love and hate, truth and deception between all the involved parties.

Chaharshanbe-soori is destined to be known as another turning point in the history of Iranian cinema. Seldom have such adult themes been treated with such depth and by acting of a quality rarely seen in Iranian movies. All the main actors here are simply magnificent. Hedyeh Tehrani has never been better. Direction, script, camera work and editing are all world class. Chaharshanbe-soori nabbed four "Iranian Oscar" awards for best director, actress, editing and audience award; as well winning the best film prize at Chicago International Film festival and Tribeca Film Festival. It's one of those movies that crawls under your skin and stays in the memory long after the movie is over.

... on any day of the week and, in fairness, a story of a marriage falling apart that could be played out in just about any setting around the world, as a recently hired apartment cleaner finds herself embroiled between a husband and mistrusting spouse, who may or may not be reading more into her errant partners behaviour, but is determined to find out one way or another regardless. Sparkling performances all round.