The Suitors (1988)

Iranian businessman Haji returns to Manhattan with his new bride, Mariyam. Haji's friends plan a feast to celebrate the marriage in the traditional style, which includes a slaughtered lamb.... See full summary »

Director:

Ghasem Ebrahimian

Writer:

Ghasem Ebrahimian

Stars:

Pouran Esrafily, Ali Azizian, Shahab Navab

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pouran Esrafily	...	Mariyam
Ali Azizian	...	Ali
Shahab Navab	...	Reza
Assurbanipal Babila	...	Haji
Manuchehr Harsini	...	Mohammed
Bahman Soltani	...	Ghasem
Mariyam Touzi	...	Mrs. Amin
Leila Ebtehadj	...	Zari
Bahman Maghsoudlou	...	Mr. Amin
Sean O'Sullivan	...	Superintendent
John Paul Daniels	...	SWAT Lieutenant
Ted Zurkowski	...	Immigration Officer
Pat Keppert	...	Lawyer
Robert Archer	...	SWAT Team Member
Pascal Druant	...	SWAT Team Member

Storyline

Iranian businessman Haji returns to Manhattan with his new bride, Mariyam. Haji's friends plan a feast to celebrate the marriage in the traditional style, which includes a slaughtered lamb. Lamb's blood from the messy ritual dripping into the apartment below causes a suspicious neighbor to call the police. When Haji is killed in the ensuing police intervention, the widow Mariyam is wooed by Haji's friends. Sensing Mariyam's reluctance, Mohammed acts quickly to propose marriage with tragi-comedic consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian

Release Date:

17 May 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Freier

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

User Reviews

one woman's liberation

The debut feature by Iranian-born NYU grad Ghasem Ebrahimian marked the emergence of an original new talent with an offbeat (to say the least) sense of humor. His story follows the emancipation of a young, subservient Moslem woman from her strict religious upbringing, after she finds herself suddenly widowed and cast adrift in New York City. Four of her dead husband's friends each begin courting her, with all due respect for ceremony but also with the unspoken expectation that she will abide by her customs and accept a new husband. How she eventually wins her independence is even more surprising than how she became a widow in the first place, after a bizarre accident involving a slaughtered lamb in a tenement bathtub and a trigger-happy SWAT team. The non-professional cast offers several natural, unrehearsed performances, and the surprise ending offers a perfect metaphor of how, in some cultures, women are regarded as only so much baggage.