The Iranian movie Darbareye Elly was show in the U.S. with the title About Elly (2009). It was written and directed by Asghar Farhadi.
This excellent movie has been presented as a mystery, but I don't see it that way. I see it more as a film about the interaction of group of friends getting away from the constraints of Tehran to a vacation area on the Caspian Sea. The only person who is not part of the group of friends is a kindergarten teacher, Elly. She teaches the daughter of one of the friends in her class. A member of the group is back from his home in Germany, and has asked one of the women to help him find a wife. The unofficial leader of the group--Sepidah--suggests that Elly come along to meet this man. Elly is reluctant--for reasons we don't understand--but she finally decides to go along with the plan. However, after the first day, she wants to go home. What happens next isn't so much a mystery as it is a study of a group of friends responding to what may well be a tragedy.
Taraneh Alidoosti plays Elly. Alidoosti has been named the greatest Iranian woman actor of the decade. (She may also be the most beautiful.) However, the real star of the movie is Golshifteh Farahani as Sepideh. Sepideh is obsessed with keeping Elly at the resort, and when things turn sour, she is obsessed with trying to hold the group together and make the best of the situation. Whether she will ever again be accepted as the group's unofficial leader is uncertain. Whether the group will even keep together is another uncertainty.
My spouse pointed out that the ensemble acting in this movie is amazing. We expect it from "Friends," because that group of actors worked together year after year. But how did director Farhadi get such superb acting from a dozen actors who have never acted together as a group? I assume the answer is an immensely talented director working with highly skilled professional actors.
The person who introduced the film is from Iran. She pointed out some very important facts that we would not have otherwise known. For example, the Caspian Sea is renowned in Iran as a attractive, exotic resort area. On the other hand, the surf is extremely treacherous. So the area is not only beautiful, but also dangerous.
The introducer also remarked how difficult it is for sophisticated, educated people to maintain a sense of identity in the repressive culture of theocratic Iran. One aspect is that people lie easily, because telling the truth can sometimes lead to serious trouble. Everyone lies easily, even on minor matters. (They don't lie very well, but they still lie all the time.)
We saw this film in the wonderful Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. Some of the sea scenes will work better on the large screen, but the film will work on the small screen as well. Find it and see it!
P.S. As I write this review, About Elly has an excellent IMDb rating of 8.1. I love to see a great movie appreciated by the IMDb audience.
This excellent movie has been presented as a mystery, but I don't see it that way. I see it more as a film about the interaction of group of friends getting away from the constraints of Tehran to a vacation area on the Caspian Sea. The only person who is not part of the group of friends is a kindergarten teacher, Elly. She teaches the daughter of one of the friends in her class. A member of the group is back from his home in Germany, and has asked one of the women to help him find a wife. The unofficial leader of the group--Sepidah--suggests that Elly come along to meet this man. Elly is reluctant--for reasons we don't understand--but she finally decides to go along with the plan. However, after the first day, she wants to go home. What happens next isn't so much a mystery as it is a study of a group of friends responding to what may well be a tragedy.
Taraneh Alidoosti plays Elly. Alidoosti has been named the greatest Iranian woman actor of the decade. (She may also be the most beautiful.) However, the real star of the movie is Golshifteh Farahani as Sepideh. Sepideh is obsessed with keeping Elly at the resort, and when things turn sour, she is obsessed with trying to hold the group together and make the best of the situation. Whether she will ever again be accepted as the group's unofficial leader is uncertain. Whether the group will even keep together is another uncertainty.
My spouse pointed out that the ensemble acting in this movie is amazing. We expect it from "Friends," because that group of actors worked together year after year. But how did director Farhadi get such superb acting from a dozen actors who have never acted together as a group? I assume the answer is an immensely talented director working with highly skilled professional actors.
The person who introduced the film is from Iran. She pointed out some very important facts that we would not have otherwise known. For example, the Caspian Sea is renowned in Iran as a attractive, exotic resort area. On the other hand, the surf is extremely treacherous. So the area is not only beautiful, but also dangerous.
The introducer also remarked how difficult it is for sophisticated, educated people to maintain a sense of identity in the repressive culture of theocratic Iran. One aspect is that people lie easily, because telling the truth can sometimes lead to serious trouble. Everyone lies easily, even on minor matters. (They don't lie very well, but they still lie all the time.)
We saw this film in the wonderful Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. Some of the sea scenes will work better on the large screen, but the film will work on the small screen as well. Find it and see it!
P.S. As I write this review, About Elly has an excellent IMDb rating of 8.1. I love to see a great movie appreciated by the IMDb audience.