Written by: Belle McIntyre

I was tipped off about this film when I saw an interview with the director by Christian Amanpour. Not a typical subject for Amanpour. But, then again, she is also Iranian, and the film is such a delightful departure from what we have come to expect from Iranian filmmakers, many of whom must film under extremely difficult circumstances or risk severe punishment and having their work banned. Born and raised in Brooklyn and later New Jersey she is theoretically all-American. However at home, culture rules, and in her case she is the youngest sister of eight brothers, with a beautiful, demanding and judgemental mother. Based loosely on her own experiences and family dynamics, we see through Leila’s (Layla Mohammadi) eyes at various times in her life. Leila narrates her life, breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the camera.

The opening scene features Leila in NYC in the 00’s. She is a 20-something filmmaker on her way to a Halloween party wearing a homemade “burkini”, a garment designed to be a hedge against the rules requiring face and head covering worn over a bikini bottom, and elaborate eye makeup. The party is full of drag queens and “artistic” party animals, possibly using mood-enhancing substances. Leila, who is gay, ends up hooking up with a drag actor (Tom Byrne) who is straight, and starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

We are treated to a charming flashback of Leila’s childhood as a tomboy and misfit at home and at school. When she goes with her mother Shireen (Niousha Noor) on a visit to Iran, she smuggles music tapes of Cyndy Lauper and Michael Jackson. This provides one of the most joyful scenes of spontaneous line dancing in a courtyard to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. It’s a very Bollywood moment.

Things are not all rowdy, noisy family disfunction. The father Ali Reza (Bijan Daneshmand) has a bad heart and needs a transplant. This brings the family back together with a darker tone. At this time Leila discovers she is pregnant from her one night stand and she has decided to keep the baby. Her grandmother tries to get Leila to make peace with her mother and lets slip some family secrets, which intrigues Leila to know more. She begins to write a screenplay of her mother’s life, which leads to an extended flashback of Shireen’s girlhood as a 13-year old bride to an older man, and a shameful episode which would have made life impossible in the ultra conservative society in Iran. This, then explains coming to America and reveals Shireen to have had many similar experiences as Leila, and to have been just as willful and stubborn as Leila. In Shireen’s flashback, she takes over the role as the narrator of her own story. It is a fascinating interlude from the American story. And it turns out to be what the film is all about. Both of these women are trying to shape their own stories. It is a beautiful tribute dedicated to “fierce Iranian women”. It is leavened with moments of pure joy.