Valeh, a member of a leftist organization, is arrested by the SAVAK and sentenced to death. In prison, he reconsiders his relationships with members of his political cell, and begins to doubt the validity of the ideas for which he is condemned. At the same time, his comrades pressure him to make a sacrifice for their cause, and his beloved wife experiences personal problems and economic hardships.
Acting
Majid Majidi's devastating prison breakdowns before directing fame.
Direction
Makhmalbaf's early raw intensity, pre-mature formal experimentation.
Production
Shot in actual Iranian prison with former political prisoners.
Director
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Makhmalbaf himself was imprisoned as a teenager for stabbing a policeman; this film draws from his own revolutionary past and subsequent disillusionment.
Made during the Iran-Iraq war, the film's questioning of revolutionary sacrifice was nearly impossible to release—its survival is itself political.
IR
