Under the Moonlight

A young Iranian from the countryside, Seyyed Hassan, studies at Koran school and will soon become a mullah. While the students prepare for the ceremony, Seyyed realises he doesn’t have the right clothes for the occasion. Seyyed buys new clothes, but on the way home he is robbed. Seyyed goes looking for the thief. During his quest, the future mullah discovers a side of society he did not know, with outcasts such as a writer, a musician and a prostitute who live in the slums between the pillars under a motorway. Seyyed is completely confused. He makes friends with the less fortunate and tries to help them.The film by Reza MirKarimi is certainly not a religious film, but it is soaked in spirituality. While the director chose for the comedy genre a farce in the tradition of Buñuel or Ripstein it is obvious that he believes in humanity. It is the first Iranian film that chooses the closed world of religion as its subject, a significant event in Iranian culture. Reza MirKarimi is part of the new wave of Iranian filmmakers who approach reality with a more openly critical attitude.