Letters from Iran 2006
Distributed by Choices, Inc., 3740 Overland Ave., Ste. F, Los Angeles CA 90034; (310) 839-1500
Produced by Nezam Manouchehri
Directed by Nezam Manouchehri
DVD, color, 33 min.
College - Adult
Middle Eastern Studies
Date Entered: 09/11/2006
Reviewed by Michael J. Coffta, Business Librarian, Bloomsburg University of PennsylvaniaLetters from Iran is an account of changing life in Iran. The narrator is an exile returning to his childhood neighborhood and family home. He reminisces about how life was and frowns upon how people and neighborhoods have changed since his youth and certainly since the revolution. He briefly discusses how construction, new land ownership and rental conditions, limited recreation space, new notions of community socializing, and other factors have led to his general, but not excessive, dismay.
I do not recommend this film on the basis that it is extremely personal. There is very little back story provided. While the narrator discusses many of the changes in his neighborhood, the relatively short duration of the film does not afford him the time to expand upon the widespread implications of his conclusions. This is a fine work with respect to the intimacy of the portrayal of life in Iran and the introspection of a nostalgic family and community oriented gentleman.