The Persian Version takes a heartfelt dive into Iranian-American family life. Part comedy, part history lesson, part drama, part musical, writer/director Maryam Keshavarz’s award-winning tale, loosely based on a true story, details the lives of the New York-based Jamshidpour family from the women’s perspective.
Leila (Layla Mohammadi) is the only daughter amongst the eight sons of Shireen (Niousha Noor) and Ali Reza (Bijan Daneshmand). She’s a tough, outspoken writer, and also a lesbian. She clashes frequently with her equally strong-willed mother who, amongst other things, hasn’t accepted her sexuality. The whole family lives together, quite chaotically, in Jersey with Shireen’s fabulous mother Mamanjoon (Bella Ward). Previously, they were in Brooklyn, NY where Shireen and Ali Reza migrated from Iran.
Leila is not sure exactly what she wants from life, other than she’s not going to follow any of the traditional paths for Iranian women. Her life-long convention-breaking attitude leads her into awkward situations, the most life-changing of which is when, on the rebound from a break-up with her girlfriend, dressed in a burka top and bikini bottom, she falls pregnant during a one-night-stand with a dragged-up British actor Maximillian (Tom Byrne).
Clash after clash with her mother seems sad as, on the face of it, the two strong women are fairly similar. Things come to a head as the family is forced to pull together following Ali Reza’s heart transplant. Tasked with staying at home and looking after Mamanjoon whilst the rest of the family keep a vigil at the hospital, the reasons for the mother’s unreasonable attitude to her daughter are slowly revealed as Leila and Mamanjoon chat about Shireen’s fascinating multi-layered back-story.
Keshavarz uses a combination of Leila’s narrative to camera, comedic sketches, music and flashbacks to both Leila’s youth in Brooklyn and her mother’s youth in Iran and subsequent life in New York, to tell a complex story of how families evolve. The resulting technicolor assault on the senses is both funny, sad and informative. Great casting, performances, character definition, and a strong soundtrack contribute to an entertaining 110 minutes. There is so much going on in this film that it could easily have been an eight-part TV series. Dedicated to all the Iranian women out there, this film is a timely reminder to be strong and to live your truest life.
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
Labels: 2023, Bijan Daneshmand, Layla Mohammadi, Maryam Keshavarz, Niousha Noor), review, Ris Fatah, Sony Classics, The Persian Version
