La Lapidation de Soraya M.

I saw The Stoning of Soraya M. a few months back at a screening, and it was so incredibly poignant that just watching the newly-released trailer brought tears to my eyes. Tears for the woman upon whom this film is based, and tears for many others like her, throughout the world, who have no voice.

The Stoning of Soraya M. is well-paced overall and does a fantastic job of bringing the audiences into Soraya's helpless situation, as we, just as helplessly, witness the malicious or cowardly decisions of others that will eventually lead to her demise.

The film treats Islam with sensitivity and in no way implicates the religion itself in the brutal practice of stoning. Shohreh Aghdashloo's character, a Muslim, decries the stoning as against the will of God.

It is important to note that the film accurately depicts a stoning, and is therefore not for the feint of heart, but seekers of truth and justice will appreciate the candor with which it portrays the gruesome nature of the heinous practice.

I commend Cyrus Nowrasteh, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and the film's producers for their courage in making this film. Thanks to you, "the world will know."

Saw this film recently at a special "pre-screening". The Stoning of Soraya M. is one of the few movies you will vividly remember to your dying day. It is almost unwatchable, yet you can't take your eyes off the screen. To think that women are still going through this today, creates a sense of obligation to see this movie. I can't stop thinking about all the women who encounter this type of injustice around the globe. Shohreh's performance is stunning and she surely deserves an Oscar nomination. She literally has pages of written text on her face, in one glance she communicates so much. Though tough to watch at places, I don't think it any different then the senseless violence in summer blockbusters and horror films. This film is a testament to the hundreds of thousand of voiceless women around the work.

Thirty minutes into this film you completely forget you are watching a movie. You are THERE, plain and simple. It's a lot like United 93 in that sense ... realistic, wrenching, and heartbreaking, but something you have to experience. It may be too visceral for critics (also like United 93), but film lovers should definitely seek it out. The ending is not supposed to be a surprise ... we know it is inevitable, and that creates a deep empathy for the character and the injustice she experiences. Yes there are more than a few flaws here. Sometimes the score becomes intrusive and there are some lines that don't work. But if audience involvement is any indication, this is an unqualified success.

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.

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.