ultragaze
This debut art-house, admiringly explores the contemporary Tehran and its underground art scene focusing on a life of a young actress who has been banned from her theater work. Struggling to pursue her passion in art as well as her secret life-style in a socially repressed environment, Marzieh gets involved in some subsequent and unexpected events leading her to a point where she eventually finds herself at a decision-making dilemma regarding her survival and identity. Distancing her work from already-acclaimed Iranian exotic cinema which is mostly known by Kiarostami's masterful minimalistic portrayal of rural life, nature landscapes, deprived yet passionate children as well as Majidi's colorful and transcendental cinema of the people struggling for survival in the outskirts of Tehran, the writer/director Granaz Moussavi still applies the poetic language of Iranian cinema but in depicting the double-sided life style of the urban middle class people and their every day life's uncertainties. My Tehran for Sale has a cunning multi-layered yet non-judgmental approach in addressing a number of issues like underground life of young people, women oppression, HIV issue, secret abortions, underground art as well as immigration and crisis of identity, people smuggling and also asylum seeker detention centers all in a subtle way. Made gorilla-style with several shaky hand-held camera shots, the film reflects the chaotic nature of living experience in today's Tehran. My Tehran For Sale seems to be pushing the boundaries in terms of form and narrative as well as the theme in Iranian contemporary cinema. Some prohibited songs and musics are employed through out the film presenting a number of emerging alternative singers such as Namjoo -Iran's Bob Dylan-according to New york Times. Finally, My Tehran for Sale seems to consciously dissolves the borders of documentary and fiction in many scenes using a non-linear narrative with an open ending. These elements could perhaps remind the Iranian cinema lovers of an alloy of Shahid-Sales' uneventful documentary style filmmaking,Kiarostami's half-made style and also Farhadi's socio-existentialist interactive recent films. This alternative movie has dared to go far beyond the norms of Iranian mainstream cinema and sneaked into the blurred reality of the lives of many forced underground or exiled which has never portrayed before in Iranian cinema making it a quite daring and subversive work.
nazlishadian
I am a young Iranian film lover living in Tehran and I found this film amazing because it has dared to breakaway to move away from the norms of Iranian movies and sneaked into the reality of the lives of many forced underground and wasted in drugs and other traps. Dark side of the moon has finally found its ways in an Iranain film. The film does not hide the dirty laundry and does not sweep the dust under the carpet so some can feel comfortably numb and rest assured that all is fine. Kids in Tehran are not fine and this is what this film is about. I love this film because it has dared to reveal the reality of the lives of 'bad' boys and girls in Iran. The lives of real people who are not necessarily 'innocent' are missing in most Iranian films. Usually Iranian films are set in villages, about children, or innocent but economically deprived people. The characters in this film are not heroes or saints. They are real people made of blood and flesh but stuck in a chaotic and sick environment. In particular, I admire the contemporary structure of this film in telling its multiple layers of stories and side stories in a non-linear way. Cinematography and acting are also notable. The cinematography portrays the chaos of public life of people and uprooted underground world where many young people spend best years of their lives. This is an edgy, daring, and revolutionary film in its form and narrative. Music is well employed through out the film too. Marzieh's acting is one the best in recent years. she delivers her role passionately and makes the character look very believable. The film confuses documentary and fiction in many scenes and I personally love this technique reflecting the reality of life in Tehran today. I definitely recommend it to all.
pyrocitor
For those wishing to pursue cinematic alternatives to mainstream American films hitting the multiplexes each week, the most readily accessible options in terms of 'foreign films' more often than not sadly fall prey to the widespread critiques of either being faulty representations of the culture on display, or as being reducible to a misguided politically charged statement. As such, it is nothing less than a delight to discover a film which not only gives a painfully believable and desperately compelling view on its geographic context (Iran), but does so from a fresh and lively angle, and without bombarding the viewer with unnecessary or excessive socio-political pleas. Such a film is My Tehran for Sale, a masterful piece of film-making made all the more commendable through its refusal to be anything apart from what it is - a portrait of a particular niche within a largely misunderstood culture and misrepresented way of life. Director Granaz Moussavi, who has admitted in interviews to the film being a patchwork of incidents partially fictional and partially autobiographical or real, brings an astonishing authenticity to her feature film debut. Using gritty, faded visual filters and lively, largely hand-held cameras, Moussavi's film carries an unmistakable documentary feel, making the subject matter of her film fume with even more urgent realism and credibility. But, what makes the film particularly interesting is Moussavi's chosen perspective, centring her narrative around a young performance artist (Marzieh Vafamehr), informed by traditions, yet struggling to articulate an independent identity in the midst of cultural challenges. By way of its protagonist - not only young, but far from destitute, unlike many such character studies - Moussavi's film harnesses a unique energy and life, making the work as a whole all the more engrossing. Moussavi herself positions herself with a bravely detached directorial stance, choosing to simply present the time, place and context, and allow her story to unfold, without allowing narratorial biases to skew the viewer's take on the subject matter presented. Neither condoning the social and political structure or Iran nor disproving of it, Moussavi simply allows her story to speak for itself, with several deliberately ambiguous points, forcing the viewer to engage with the narrative and draw their own conclusions and stances. Nonetheless, a detached directorial stance need not equate to a work devoid of feeling, as Moussavi's film is anything but, delivering an emotional yield both ferociously outraged and quietly contemplative without delving too far into either extreme. However, Moussavi is equally willing to counterbalance her serious subject matter with welcome moments of life, heart and humour which provide welcome context and preventing the overall viewing experience from becoming too heavy. Nonetheless, the film's most singularly impressive aspect is its treatment of the titular city, shot impressively on location with simple yet phenomenally skilled cinematography. Through the impassive cinematic eye of Moussavi, Tehran is illuminated with a visceral and undeniably gorgeous pulse, capturing each street corner, crowded highway and underground pocket of cultural resistance with an abiding urgency and channelling its rhythm, energy and aesthetic with a near peerless insight. Moussavi's performers, mostly non-actors, also deliver a vivid realism and simmering passion to the piece. In a highly complex and demanding role, Marzieh Vafamehr is flat out superb as a performance artist struggling with more than her fair share of adversity, showing an uncanny ability for commanding the screen without an ounce of showy grabs at easy emotion or sympathy. It is near impossible to imagine, for all of Moussavi's incredible command of the cinematic form, the film having any trace of its power and poignancy without Vafamehr's stunning performance. Despite a complete lack of acting experience (in real life, he is employed as a medical doctor), Amir Chegini supplies ample support to Vafamehr's emotional centrepiece as her Australian-schooled fiancé, carefully crafting a character hard to fully warm to but harder still to dismiss in any way - a remarkable study in balance and character cohesion. In turns intriguing, troublesome, heartwarming and incredibly difficult to watch, My Tehran for Sale marks an ingenious examination of a way of life, and talents to watch in Moussavi and Vafamehr. Powerful and thought-provoking without making hackneyed ploys for easy or misguided sentiment, Moussavi's film should be considered near essential viewing for any with an interest in Iran or simply in compelling cinema. -9/10
