TEHRAN: CITY OF LOVE (2018)

Cast

Plot

Three disenchanted characters: an ex-champion bodybuilder, an overweight beauty clinic secretary and a dispirited religious singer, yearn for love and connection in Tehran. Iranian writer-director Ali Jaberansari's bittersweet tale about searching for romantic fulfilment in contemporary Tehran cuts between three disillusioned middle-aged individuals: an overweight salon receptionist (Forough Ghajabagli) who catfishes male customers, a poker-faced former bodybuilding champion (Amir Hessam Bakhtiari) and a glum funeral singer (Mehdi Saki) who's broken up with his fiancée. Unfolding in a milieu of private gyms, designer cafés and cosmetic procedures, Tehran: City Of Love possesses a deadpan humour reminiscent of Aki Kaurismäki, while the precisely framed static compositions convey how stifled its characters feel within their lonely lives.