About Elly

GREAT MOVIES: Asghar Farhadi's About Elly (Iran, 2009) - One of the most remarkable Iranian films to surface in the last few years, About Elly is a small but compelling ensemble piece of surprising depth. It’s one of those rare films that can be read on one level purely as a satisfying drama, but which also has a rich, independent inner life, centred on big questions about right and wrong, social coercion and the lies people tell themselves and each other. It’s also a relative departure for Iranian film in its middle-class setting. Telling the story of a group of young friends from Teheran who take a three-day break at a Caspian beach resort, it shows a modern face of the country which has hitherto been seen only rarely (SCREEN). 2009BERic, 2009SEA, 2010OE, 2010PALM. RATING: 9