[O]ne of the most brilliant and provocative films to emerge from Iran recently.
Read full articleIf the film feels at first a bit too obviously conceived, like a series of anti-authoritarian PSAs, it accrues depth as it goes on, finding more and more subtleties of absurdity and humiliation.
Read full articleBecause each vignette is no more than a few minutes long and consists of Kafkaesque conversations that border on the absurd, “Terrestrial Verses” operates with a cumulative effect.
Read full articleThe sense of repetition that the film leans into in order to acknowledge the inescapable grip of the state is as much a feature as it is a bug.
Read full articleElegant, eloquent and unwavering in its determination to reveal the plight of the individual Iranians it showcases, Terrestrial Versus is confident, compelling filmmaking.
Read full articleThis film is as muted in its approach to character and drama as its color palette, but the result is devastating.
Read full articleIf you’re one of those people who’s felt guilty about finding some Iranian cinema a little too ascetic and “pure,” this short, sharp feature will prove their stripped-down approach can be devastatingly effective.
Read full articleSet in modern-day Tehran, Asgari and Khatami work to expose with prickly realism and dashes of absurdity, the stringent rules and customs that still apparently govern much of societal behavior in Iran.
Read full articleQuite clearly influenced by [Roy] Andersson... Terrestrial Verses is a mosaic comprised of ordinary people whose paths have brought them face-to-face with institutional power.
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