I wanted to like this film I really did. For me it had the perfect ingredients - it was from a country I knew relatively little about, it was bleak and gritty and the actors were almost frighteningly believable. What's more the cinematography and direction were impressive - I loved the beautiful scenery and the contrasts with the grim realities of urban Iran. The problem was that it was just so so slow. I didn't want an action film; I love thoughtful, quiet films but at one point I was almost begging the writer to give us something, anything, just to maintain a flicker of interest and stop us falling asleep. There was almost no conversation and that which there was I found dull and awkward. I can honestly say that without exaggeration I was utterly stunned when the film finished and my DVD player stated clearly that it had been running for less than 90 minutes. It was genuinely so painfully slow that it seemed to have been running for 3 hours or more. To this day I swear that my DVD player was playing tricks on me....
