SPOILER ALERT
My perspective of the story was that Leo’s character staying in Jordan indicated he wanted to convert to Islam, live like an Arab and marry Golshifteh’s character. I think this was a really nice ending and showed that Muslims are real people both good and bad (contrasting with the terrorists in the film).

It’s the unpredictability and instability of the situation that should make us all scared for Farahani.

But again she said the Iranian officials gave her a hard time and they’ve seen her without her headscarf. Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian activist was seen w/o headscarf outside Iran and she argued that no where in Iran’s constitution is mentioned that you should wear one outside Iran and she got away with it. She is an amazing brave women, lawyer, activist and noble peace prize winner. More power to her. It takes guts to do what she is doing in Iran.

I think Golshifteh should act cautious if she wants to continue acting in Iran. Unfortunately, the fact that she is a celebrity in a public eye is causing a bit controversy; otherwise, In Iran, I see girls with their scarfs sitting low on their heads with bleached hair hanging out of it, wearing tight low cut uniforms walking around streets of Tehran all the time and they’re not bothered by the law enforcement very much.

It is difficult for Iranian women to obey the islamic dress code and they look for any excuse to shorten their uniforms and show as much hair and make up as they can to oppose it.

They never assumed in their wildest dreams that voting for an Islamic regime during a revolution meant giving up their freedoms. When Ayatollah khomeini was elected and forced women into wearing head scarfs, they protested, but it was too late and many got killed during the protest.

Anyway, The Ayatollahs have become more liberal in the past decade and they don’t whip and stone women as frequent as they used to 20 yrs ago.

The economy is good, people are doing their own thing and they’re not in mood for another regime change. So they’ve learned to put up with this regime and fight their freedoms slowly from within.

I’d really love for MMW to cover Keyhan (wanna right for us, Sara? but I really, really, REALLY want us to cover this movie, and how Farahani’s character is portrayed. I hear there is a lot of colonial gender stuff in it, but my broke ass doesn’t wanna fork out a ticket.

There may be political implications for her acting in an American film of course but, once you watch it, you realize the film is very much about Americans (specifically, Crowe’s character) not “getting” the Middle East at all. In fact, there’s a brilliant line during the second-last scene of the film which shows you just how completely clueless and arrogant Crowe’s character is and how DiCaprio’s character is the polar opposite of the sentiment that’s just been expressed. (I don’t want to spoil the film by saying what that line is but you’ll know what I’m talking about when you watch it.) Also, Azabal’s character is very anti American interference in the Middle East which is fun to watch because it puts DiCaprio’s character on the defensive.

All in all, I don’t think this is going to be that big a deal. Granted I only lived in the Middle East for three years so my estimation of everyone’s reactions might be a little off, but I do think that it’s the media in both countries that is inflating the issue before either of them has really watched the film. (As usual…*sigh*.)

The difference with Ebadi is that she became a public figure because of winning the Nobel prize, and her photos got posted everywhere, and well, the officials don’t like that.

There is more sensitivity from those who would care about this stuff about actresses since they are much more well-known for the general public, and role models for youngsters, and i guess (like it or not) get a lot of attention for their beauty. Still there have been Iranian actors that have appeared in various film festivals and the like without a scarf, even with pictures on the internet, and they have not had any problem returning to Iran (I know of Niki Karimi and Leyla Hatami who are both as highly regarded and famous as Golshifteh).

The thing about Golshifteh is that she has appeared in a Hollywood movie, and Hollywood is generally considered by many as sexualizing women and all that stuff… The Hollywood premiere is much more about showing off and looks than some artsy festival, and it gets much more news coverage. The other actresses were also much more covered up than her, just putting aside the headscarf.
I really hope that she could go back with no problems, and think it still may be possible. Although the chances are not that high (the terrible Keyhan newspaper has run a column comparing actresses that go to Hollywood to human sex trafficking!!! (Cover this one MMW!)
The news she has made is pretty much working against her, but inevitable since she was in a movie with de Caprio and Russel Crowe.

This was just some perspective form someone who follows Persian news and society and stuff … I personally think that the whole hijab obligation thing has been one of the worst things that happened in the Iranian society, effecting those that choose to wear it or not alike, and it will take a long time to get over it, this is just the story of one of the person from the millions.

About Golshifteh, I think she is gorgeous anyway , she even chose a pretty modest dress considering the circumstances (not that it would have been important otherwise), and I was impressed that she spoke English pretty well in the short interviews she had in the premier, and sounded intelligent, saying that people should try to understand the beautiful ME and not give in to stereotypes.

Wow! I wrote so much!
You know, I have to hand in my thesis in 2 days … I guess that’s why I’m here blabbering!