With Others

When Arezoo and Amir-Hossein can't conceive a child together, Arezoo's friend and colleague Tahareh is willing to act as a surrogate. But when Tahareh's ex-husband is temporarily released from prison,all these people's lives become more complicated. The movie "Ba Digaran" (the film's Iranian name) represents an unprecedented, different theme in Iranian cinema regarding female infertility and surrogacy. This is a social movie in an urban atmosphere. The director handles the subject as normal, focusing on a individual middle-class couple. The story revolves around the mood of its characters and gives a visual voice to their suppressed emotions. The cinematography and editing in this film are so in-sync, its like Chris Nolan and Hans Zimmer working together on a film. Some of the long one-takes on a stable camera with seamless transition of scene, Backed by a soft background score is just serene. All the performances are good and noteworthy. The story's turn from surrogacy to Tahareh's husband's reaction show the cultural mentality on the subject, still the open open ending feels out of place and unnecessary as it just emphasizes what a small world we live in. Still a better film for its grounded portrayal real world problems, is worth a watch.