The Stoning of Soraya M.

I must begin with explaining that I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for graphic imaging. I've seen "A Serbian Film", "Antichrist", and the "Human Centipede"....non of which caused me to feel sick to my stomach.

"The Stoning of Soraya M." crushed me from the inside out. The sorrow that flows from the women in this film will follow you for the rest of your days. You'll see one particular scene (hint: its in the title) in your dreams. This film doesn't allow the viewer to choose between crying and having their stomachs flipped twelve times around; the viewer will experience both...to an extreme.

The plot is relatively simple. I've decided makes this film so much better. You don't have to try to keep up with a thousand mini-plots. You just have to try to stomach the main event.If you make it all the way through the last scene, take a moment to remember the message that came across your screen before the first scene takes off...."based on a true story."

I watched this movie three days ago and it still haunts me and has kept me up at night. The title of the movie reveals how this story ends but nothing could have prepared me for the brutality depicted in the inevitable stoning scene. Many other reviewers have summarized the plot so I won't go into that, I'll just say that this movie NEEDS to be seen. This woman's story needs to be told. The world needs to know the reality of life for women in patriarchal societies, and this movie tells just one of the many stories of women who have endured the kind of treatment Soraya did.

To sum it up, this film broke my heart. The two female leads are such strong actors that you feel like you're experiencing the events with them. You feel their disbelief, their rage, their fear, their helplessness, their pain. When Soraya bravely walks to the spot where she knows she will die, when she sees the pile of rocks, when the first stone strikes her... and the next one, and the next one...you feel what she feels. Even though you know from the beginning what happens to Soraya you keep hoping that somehow the events unfold differently than they do. But they don't, and the result is absolutely devastating.

Be forewarned, this film presents a graphic depiction of a public stoning. It is brutal, cruel and extremely disturbing. The scenes will stay with you. But that is the point. The world needs to know what Soraya and countless women like her have experienced, because educating ourselves is the only way atrocities like this will end.

A tip: If you are born a female, make sure it's not in Iran.

They say it themselves: If you're accused of having an affair, and you're a woman, it's not up to them to prove you're guilty, but for you to establish your innocence. Of course with men, it's the other way around. You've bore your violent husband two girls and two boys and been married to him for twenty years. Suddenly one day, he decides to hitch up with a 14 year old girl instead. That's gratitude for you. But you won't give him a divorce, due to the fact it would leave you virtually penniless. So, he does the only thing a nasty bastard could do... he makes up a cock and bull story about you having an affair with a neighbour... and enlists the help of the local corrupt law officials in his plan. And the punishment for such a crime is... well, look at the title.

The Stoning Of Soraya M, as told by Soraya's aunt after the event to a journalist, is one of the hardest films to watch that I've seen in many a moon. Throughout, the sense of injustice and frustration at such an unfair situation makes you want to scream, and the uncomfortableness factor is moved up about 50 notches at the stoning itself... when everyone, from Soraya's sons to her own father takes it in turns to chuck rocks at her while she's half buried in the soil. Of course, the injuries are graphically displayed... Making this possibly the most upsetting final act since Jesus's fate was sealed in The Passion Of The Christ. Both are extended slow deaths where nothing is left to the imagination, so make sure you're mentally prepared before submitting yourself to such a brutal experience.

Brilliantly acted, and echoing with the ring of truth, as the epilogue reminds us: this sort of barbarism is still taking place all over the world. We may THINK we're civilised, but incidences like this prove we still have a LONG way to go. Disgraceful. 7/10

After watching the injustice and betrayal that Soraya, the lead character, suffered in this film I can no longer be silent about the injustice going on in this world today. The human rights violations happening in our world stabs at the heart of human dignity. The story starts off slowly and builds to a brutal and bloody ending that I did not expect. It sheds light on how one man's selfishness can incite a mob mentality against an innocent woman. The lack of compassion in the villagers is astounding, but the silence of justice is deafening. See this film as soon as you can! It is informative, life-changing and it makes you reevaluate what side of good and evil you really stand on. Choosing to not speak out is the same as condoning the crime.

I can't remember the last time I had such a gripping and emotional experience in movie theatre. In the screening I attended there was audible sobbing and gasps throughout a large part of the film.

Sohreh Aghdashloo is excellent in her portrayal of the feisty Zarah. Newcomer Marzhan Marno is equally moving, and sympathetic in her role of the title character. I'll be surprised if come award time these ladies are not recognized for their work.

Though some have criticized the portrayals of the male characters as unbelievable I found them to be very accurate. Let's not pretend that sexism and religious hypocrisy are something new...even in our own society. These are men who abuse religious laws and principals for their own gain and too keep women subservient. However, the director does show other sides of these characters as well, struggling with their own beliefs and decisions (in private as to not show weakness in public).

The film is beautifully filmed as well, with the sweeping shots of the village landscape and the poetic images of chadors moving in the wind.

I never come on IMDb to write reviews, but 'The Stoning of Soroya M.' was such an intense and beautiful film that I had to spread the word. It deserves a much wider release than its getting, because its a breath of fresh air in a summer movie season full of inane comedies and action romps.