Tehran law : much more than a great thriller
On paper, Tehran law (2021) it could appear like a classic thriller with no surprises. The film follows Samad, a police officer who tries to get his hands on Naser Khakzad, a drug kingpin. Nothing new here then. Except that the feature film is set in Iran, a country where the penalty for drug possession is the death penalty. This hasn’t stopped the sale of drugs from exploding, on the contrary. Because for drug traffickers, even at the cost of risking death for a few grams of crack, they could also do it for several tens of kilos.
Since, Tehran law isn’t limited to simply chasing a criminal by a police officer, it delivers a complex and tragic portrait of Iran, without being either moralistic or binary. All respecting the codes of the thriller genre (and adding a touch of lightness to the dialogues) to offer a breathtaking spectacle. A real success by director Saeed Roustayi who, with his second feature film, showed his qualities as a director with an impressive attention to detail.
In fact, to better understand the situation of drug addicts in Iran, Saeed Roustayi carried out extensive research, especially following the drug brigade for several days, before going to prison and court. It is in these places that most of the Tehran lawrevealing itself like this a terrifying system where prisoners are crowded together in deplorable conditions. Regarding his immersion in this universe, the director specified in the film’s press kit: “This research lasted almost a year, because I wanted to be as close as possible to the reality of the facts I described in my film“.
A precise and captivating film
Given Saeed Roustayi’s portrayal of Iran and the impact of drugs in the country, the director had to facial censorship. After seven months of negotiations, the director managed to limit himself to minimal changes to his screenplay, despite pressure especially from the anti-drug police.
Our position was to say that we were not making a film commissioned to glorify the police, but that we were interested in human beings, drug addicts, traffickers or police officers.
Despite these difficulties during production, the director managed to complete it Tehran law, and not at all. The movie was a huge success in Iran. Again, Saeed Roustayi’s ability to offer on the one hand a compelling film, a perfectly mastered pure thriller, and on the other an almost documentary-like social work, can explain this public interest. All carried out by a select, remarkable cast Payman Maadi and Navid Mohammadzadeh.
Saeed Roustayi conquered abroad before being imprisoned in Iran
As far as the press is concerned, the feature film had an excellent response in France (with an average of 4.1 out Assigned based on 21 newspapers). In his criticism, Positive he summarized perfectly and in one sentence what the Law of Tehran is: “Crime film, action film, social and metaphysical film, The Law of Tehran is simply a fantastic filmThe work therefore did not steal the standing ovation during its presentation at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and perhaps it would have deserved a little better than his nomination for the César for best foreign film in 2022 (won by The Father).
Finally, let’s remember this later Tehran lawSaeed Roustayi went even stronger Leila and her brotherssuperb family drama verging on thriller, a film banned in Iran, which earned that the director be sentenced to six months in prison.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
