Kaveh Mousavi’s Top 10 Iranian Films

7. Under the Skin of the City (2001) – Rakhshan Bani E’temad

Are you getting tired of movies whose main theme is poverty? Sorry, here’s one more.

Rakhshan Bani E’temad was a part of a great feminist movement which arose in the early 2000s and changed Iranian culture forever. This era, taking place during the relative liberalization under President Khatami, saw a surge in feminist political movements, feminist publications, and feminist cinema. While I don’t think Under the Skin of the City was the best feminist movie of this era (we call this foreshadowing for a future entry), there’s no doubt that overall Rakhshan Bani E’temad is the most talented woman filmmaker of Iran’s history. She is – like her peers – very socially and politically conscious and vocal in her films, and the political goal of the film is clear. But the movie is nothing like propaganda or an essay. It is – like all great art – a story about humanity at its heart.

Touba is the mother of a family and a laborer. While her husband and her sons attempt to increase the quality of their lives, she is learning to read and write. The story takes place on the background of the parliamentary elections and her son falling in love. Anyone watching the movie will be shocked by its frankness and courage. The movie is shamelessly political and very critical of the regime, whether in economic matters of poverty, in restrictions on love and sexuality, or on the rise of the reformist movement.

Ages from now this movie will stand out as an accurate portrayal of Iran, but also as a beautiful story about the resilience of a woman. A feminist film in all the good senses of the word.