Zanan-e bedun-e mardan (2009)

Against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship.

Directors:

Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari

Writers:

Shoja Azari, Shirin Neshat (screenplay)

Stars:

Shabnam Toloui, Pegah Ferydoni, Arita Shahrzad

7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shabnam Toloui	...	Munis
Pegah Ferydoni	...	Faezeh
Arita Shahrzad	...	Farrokhlagha
Orsolya Tóth	...	Zarin (as Orsi Toth)
Ahmad Hamed	...	Gardener
Navid Navid	...	Ali (as Navíd Akhavan)
Bijan Daneshmand	...	Abbas
Essa Zahir	...	Amir Khan
Tahmoures Tehrani	...	General Sadri
Abbas Bakhtiari	...	Singer
Mehdi Moinzadeh	...	Communist Leader
Farhad Payar	...	Leading Officer
Shahrnoush Parsipour	...	Madame Pari
Said Oveissi	...	Hassan
Mithra Zahedi	...	Nahid

Storyline

Against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | iran | f rated | 1953 iranian coup d'etat | police crackdown | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Hungary]

Country:

Germany Austria France Italy Ukraine Morocco

Language:

Persian English

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Women Without Men

Filming Locations:

Casablanca, Morocco

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,404, 11 April 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$175,995, 13 June 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Essential Filmproduktion GmbH,Coop99 Filmproduktion,Coproduction Office

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The bathhouse shown in the movie is in Turkish style and everyone is wearing blue and white clothes while in Iranian bathhouses people usually wear red and black clothes.

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Connections

References Mogambo (1953)

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Soundtracks

Shahanshi
Written by Lieutenant N. Moghadam

User Reviews

Shirin Neshat in the best way possible combined politics with a love story.

Great story, being a Persian, I always heard about the Coup but I could never picture how was it like living at that time, and Shirin Neshat in the best way possible combined it with a love story. Munes wants to be knowledgeable about social and sexual matters (in the film she wants to be a political activist); Faezeh is a traditional Muslim woman who wants a good marriage; Zarin Kolah is a prostitute dreaming of a better future, and Farok-Lagha is a wealthy woman determined to become an influential figure on the political scene. All four end up in a house with a garden in a Tehran suburb, striving for a future that was not granted to them. Gardens are popular in the middle East and especially in Iran, where a garden is a metaphor for paradise.