71
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDirector Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly) shot his faux documentary in secret, and the close-to-the-ground style compensates for the tenuous narrative structure by capturing the energy and variety of Tehran's music scene in all its bravery.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe film is careful to avoid explicit political statement, but its reticence makes its critique of the Iranian regime all the more devastating.
- 75NPRMark JenkinsNPRMark JenkinsThe movie's principal liability is that most of the music is highly derivative. Ghobadi spends a lot of time on songs that are more interesting sociologically than musically.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe movie comes to life whenever Hamed Behdad appears.
- 60EmpireDavid ParkinsonEmpireDavid ParkinsonBahman Ghobadi can’t be faulted for showcasing so many bands, and the mix is wonderfully eclectic, but the linking episodes aren’t always riveting.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterOf the many performers captured by D.P. Turaj Aslani's highly mobile video camera, an unframed woman singer identified as Rana Farhan is a standout.
- 60VarietyVarietyStrings an improvised tale around Tehran's underground indie-rock scene. Good-looking, shot-on-the-fly fifth feature by Bahman Ghobadi ("Half Moon," "Turtles Can Fly," "A Time for Drunken Horses"), which blends exciting musical performances with an undernourished narrative.
- 60Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanPersian Cats is likeable but undistinguished filmmaking.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearThese artists are risking everything by playing Western-influenced music; that Ghobadi cheapens and cheeses up their subversion with Hollywood tricks makes for a seriously bitter irony.
- The movie, largely improvised and totally believable, is often very funny, and the glimpses of life inside what remains a very repressive regime are fascinating, but in the final analysis, despite a fairly grim denouement, there's little here you haven't already seen in Hollywood flicks like "Singles."