Beautiful City

Original title: Shahr-e ziba

2004
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

In Islamic Iran, how much is a woman worth in comparison with a man, and who pays the difference? This film is tale of vengeance, labyrinthine judicial procedure & the concept of "blood mone... Read allIn Islamic Iran, how much is a woman worth in comparison with a man, and who pays the difference? This film is tale of vengeance, labyrinthine judicial procedure & the concept of "blood money."In Islamic Iran, how much is a woman worth in comparison with a man, and who pays the difference? This film is tale of vengeance, labyrinthine judicial procedure & the concept of "blood money."

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

6.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Photos15

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
It became best film at Warsaw Film Festival in 2004.

Quotes
Mr. Ghafouri: You have to make the decision.
A'la: I can't. That's why I'm here.
Mr. Ghafouri: Does his sister love you ?
A'la: A lot.
Mr. Ghafouri: Can you forget her ?
A'la: No.
Mr. Ghafouri: Marry her then.
A'la: What about Akbar then ?
Mr. Ghafouri: Do you know why Akbar killed that girl ?
A'la: He loved her. How can you kill someone you love ?
Mr. Ghafouri: He didn't want for someone else to have her. What would you do if you were in Akbar's shoe ? Would you have killed the girl as well ?
A'la: I'd have forgotten her.
Mr. Ghafouri: So you can forget someone you love. Right ? You can forget Akbar's sister too, if that's possible.
A'la: No, it's not.
Mr. Ghafouri: Remember Shahin ?
A'la: Yeah.
Mr. Ghafouri: Remember why he had committed murder? They didn't have the money to pay for her mother's debts... So they had to kill the guy.
A'la: Yeah.
Mr. Ghafouri: Shahin didn't have a father. He loved his mother. He didn't want her mother to go to prison for her heavy debt. He couldn't bear it. He killed the man in order not to lose his mother. Do you think he did the right thing ?
A'la: No.
Mr. Ghafouri: What would you do ? Would you have killed the guy or have forgotten your mother ?
A'la: I'd have forgotten my mother.
Mr. Ghafouri: So it is possible to forget someone you love.
A'la: No it's not. I can't.
Mr. Ghafouri: It's easy to tell others to forget. The judges who gave death sentences to Akbar and Shahin and others... They too thought the same.
A'la: What should I do Mr. Ghafouri?
Mr. Ghafouri: I would have forgotten about Akbar's sister if I were you. But I may fall in love some day and won't be able to forget. Even if it's at the price of someone's death.

User reviews11

Review

Featured review

Farhadi's Deep Breath Before the Plunge.

Every single film by Asghar Farhadi has beautifully captured a different section of Iranian society & Beautiful City is no different. The title referring to a juvenile detention center, Beautiful City tells the tale of A'la, whose friend Akbar has just turned eighteen which means he will be executed soon for the crime he committed two years ago. Knowing that Akbar has repented enough in the two years, has a good heart & doesn't deserve this punishment, A'la gets out of that place and later, accompanied by Akbar's sister Firoozeh, tries his best in persuading the victim's father to spare the boy from certain death.

The movie also shows that no matter how restrictive a society is, money can buy everything, including life & death. As the movie progresses, we find out that the lives of these characters aren't as transparent as we assumed in the beginning and the story slowly becomes a gritty examination of moral & human complexities and no character is spared from making a life-altering choice.

Covering the themes of love, corruption, sacrifice, forgiveness and how the confinements of society & religion sometimes stops a person from going with what the heart desires, Beautiful City is another thought-provoking cinema from Farhadi with a universal appeal that, in the end, may leave you little lost but you'll come around eventually. Also, it was after this film that Farhadi started crafting one masterpiece after another, so if you've seen his later films before this one, like I did, I suggest that you don't have the expectations of Fireworks Wednesday, About Elly or A Separation from this film.