Leila

Ingmar Bergman would be proud of this film that enters the soul of an Iranian woman and effects the heart of those who observe. Set in upper-suburbia Teheran where life for Leila takes a turn when she finds herself unable to have children. This has an affect on her marriage caused by outside interference of the family. Leila wants to keep the peace and goes along with the charade of getting her husband a second wife to have children with, a situation that affects everyone. The camera catches the distinct feature of the actors as an over abundance of dialogue takes over. But the dialogue, (with some bad subtitles that is easily overlooked), carries the story onwards while we the audience enter Leila's tormented mind which is the centre stage of this beautifully crafted piece of cinema. Occasionally you want to kick Leila and tell her to get her act together and rebel against her husband's family. But tradition has a hold of her and she remains silent, sending herself into a slow deteriorating state of existence. A tradition that I can almost relate too.

This is a touching love story starring a sterile Iranian woman, who has to deal with her in-laws' continuous desire for a grandchild. It is by no means Hollywood-friendly: the story unfolds as it would in real life. It is a perfect example of art imitating life.

The cast is very proficient. Leila does an amazing job of conveying her deep yet veiled anxiety, annoyance and anger every time she speaks to her mother in-law. Sheikhi is equally proficient at making us scorn her. I did feel that Ali Mosaffa stole the show: he is flawless in his role of trying to keep the different protagonists happy, yet staying blind to their actual feelings.

This movie may lose a lot of its punch for non-farsi speakers.

Leila Hatami (Leila, the Wife) - 7/10 - Great when acting, not as great at narrating.

Ali Mosaffa (Reza, the Husband) - 10/10 - Compelling flawless performance.

Jamileh Sheikhi (Reza's Mother) - 8/10 - Successfully makes us shriek every time she speaks.

Dariush Mehrjui - 8/10 - Very good script and good rhythm, though I felt that the movie was unusually dark. I am not sure if this was intended, poor cinematography or my failing TV set.

The characters and the circumstances in this movie are so well developed that it is hard not to feel just as angry, devastated and numb as Leila. You feel like you become part of a real family that has real dysfunction and is trying to get along despite it all. The few things I did not like include the subtitles, as they were at times difficult to read at the speed they were moving, as well as some of the lighting. There are a few scenes where it would has been nice to see more of the characters' features. Regardless, I feel so much more satisfied after watching this movie that any other run of the mill romantic comedy at the movie theatre. If you are a movie lover and are looking for something different, go watch this movie.

this film is indicating a semi modern Iranian couple ,who are trying to fight with old believes &old generation.in this battle they fail cause the man is not strong enough.if you really want to understand this film you must know a lot about Iranian nowadays culture. Leila is the symbol of a young Iranian woman who marry with love but others interferer her life with the name of family traditions and customs.specially her husbands family .at the end of film it shows that every one is damaged by this interference Leila,her husband,mother in law&... the subject is some how strange for westerners,but many of your subjects are strange for easterners too!

Most Iranian movies I've seen so far seem to deal with simple emotions among poor people (e.g. boy looking for friend's house in the next village to return notebook). Leila's characters, freed from the struggle for survival, display a full range of human emotions and complexities. Brilliantly acted, scripted, edited.