Darband

Trapped (Darband)is one of the better films in the recent Iranian cinema output. It features a stunning debut by the young actress Nazanin Bayati as Nazanin, an academically bright pupil from provinces who has just entered university in Tehran. She encounters difficulty in finding university accommodation but gets an offer from Sahar (Pegah Ahangarani), a happy go lucky girl working in a ladies makeup accessories shop. While Nazanin is trying to support herself by giving private tuition, Sahar is the polar opposite, partying all night and hanging out with dubious friends. Soon Nazanin is involved in Sahar's problems and the film enters the Farhadi territory of film making. The casting is one of the standout elements of Darband in which each character is perfectly cast. One of the main themes of the film is loss of innocence and that to survive in a big city like Tehran, academic intelligence is not enough and being street smart is an absolute necessity. Recommended.