Beautiful City

The second feature by Farhadi, director of the award-winning Dancing in the Dust, Beautiful City is an engaging and complex psychological drama that focuses on the Iranian judicial system and blood revenge. The film opens in a juvenile prison where a sixteen-year-old boy who killed a girl awaits the death penalty; this cannot be carried out until he turns eighteen. His best friend Ala (Babak Ansari), who has just been released from prison, is determined to do everything possible to stop the execution. For that, he needs to convince the dead girl's family to drop all charges. Ala finds his friend's sister (Taraneh Alidoosti, who also played in I am Taraneh, 15) and persuades her to help him approach the family, as he cannot hope to do it by himself. The two try to get closer to the girl's father, to persuade him that ending another young life will not bring back his daughter. They come across an unexpected number of obstacles: besides the steadfastness of the father, the practical question of money starts to play a role. In the meantime, Ala and Taraneh start to have feelings for one another. A strong film, not only thanks to its content but also because of the two main actors' performances and the wonderful, realistic camera work. (LC)