An Iranian assassin is sent to the United States to kill a former Iranian official who served under the Shah of Iran. The night before the assassination he find out that his target (Mr. ...
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Title: The Mission (1983)
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2 wins & 1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Parviz Sayyad | ... | The Colonel |
| Mary Apick | ... | Maliheh | |
| Houshang Touzie | ... | Agent From Teheran | |
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Saeed Rajai | ... | Agent From Teheran |
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Kamran Nozad | ... | Ghaffar |
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Mohammed Ghaffari | ... | His Eminence |
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Hatam Anvar | ... | Maziar |
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Hedia Anvar | ... | Farzaneh |
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Soraya Shayesteh | ... | The Woman |
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Richard Mansfield | ... | Mugger |
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David Filinni | ... | Mugger |
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Liz Jones | ... | Passerby |
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John Neil | ... | Passerby |
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Frank Oddo | ... | Cabbie |
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Murie Alcid | ... | Cleaning Lady |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
An Iranian assassin is sent to the United States to kill a former Iranian official who served under the Shah of Iran. The night before the assassination he find out that his target (Mr. Tabataie) has already been killed by a Muslim American Hassan Tantai (aka David Theodore Belfield). A prominent mullah residing in the U.S. find him a new assassination target. Written by Pouyan Bokaie an
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
30 March 1983 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Mission See more »Company Credits
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Parviz Sayyad, a popular comic director in Iran before the revolution, had to leave his homeland and wound up in America with no funds to pursue his cinematic art. Somehow he scraped together the shoestring to get this one filmed, fortunately. It's a brilliant, compelling examination of what it means to follow your ideals, after you find out that everything you thought was wrong.
A young Iranian arrives in New York. He is a quiet, serious, pious Muslim. His orders: find the ex-SAVAK officer and kill him. While trailing the ex-SAVAK officer in New York's subway, he accidentally meets him face to face while helping him escape muggers. From his pocket falls the Qur'an with Persian translation. The ex-SAVAK officer picks it up and sees the Persian writing. Hey! You're from Iran too, what a coincidence, we must become friends! They do, in fact, become friends. The pious young Muslim assassin finds out that the ex-SAVAK officer is a nice guy, not a bad guy after all. He has two cute kids, and they love their new uncle from Iran (the assassin). How he can find it in his heart to kill this nice guy? Meanwhile he makes ablution and prays in his cockroachy apartment. The assassination commander tries to call him on the phone, but he does not answer so as not to interrupt his prayer. The assassination commander comes to see him, saying "Why don't you answer the phone? Praying? Oh, you are so pious" -- while he guzzles beer! So the young assassin faces a dilemma: he wanted to serve Islam, but he is forced to confront the question of where is real Islam -- in the revolution? Or in his heart? Then he is not sure what he should really do. The tragic ending is wrenching indeed.
This movie is made with heart and sympathy, about discovering moral ambiguity in one's own soul. An excellent view of the spiritual problems with the Iranian revolution made by an expatriate with no resources but his wit and his heart. If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it.