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Iran · 2005
1h 30m
Director Mohammad Rasoulof
Starring Ali Nasirian, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh
Genre Drama
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Iron Island follows several characters living on an abandoned oil tanker in the Persian Gulf: a lad who rescues fish trapped in the hull, an old man who stares at the sun, the idealistic teacher, and Ahmad, the Captain's assistant who has fallen in love with a young woman whose father wants to marry her to someone of means.
The New York Times by Dave Kehr
Less consumed by behavioral details than many of his filmmaking compatriots, Mr. Rasoulof makes bold use of symbolic imagery - a satellite television is confiscated and tossed overboard - suggesting that utopias inevitably come at the price of isolation and authoritarianism.
A thrilling example of the cunning political allegory woven into vivid concretism that invigorates contemporary Iranian cinema, Mohammad Rasoulof's Iron Island takes as its monumental central image a sinking ship, symbol of decaying autocracy and the faint hope of liberation.
Depending on one's mood, the movie might seem boldly simplified and poetic--or boringly simpleminded and prosaic.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Richly detailed -- and improbably entertaining.
Mohammad Rasoulof's heartfelt and darkly comic second feature proves beyond any doubt that Iranian film is still alive and well, despite waning Western interest in one of the world's richest contemporary cinemas.
Iron Island is at its most compelling early, as Rasoulof explores his human-scaled ant farm, detailing how people make lives for themselves in cramped quarters, using cardboard partitions and jerry-rigged appliances.
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
All in all, a harrowing, one-of-a-kind movie.
The Hollywood Reporter by Richard James Havis
Stalwart Iranian actor Ali Nasirian plays Nemat with a thoughtful hubris, uniting the various plot strands by force of character.
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
Well-photographed and adequately directed and acted, Iron Island is (painless) propaganda, informing us about domestic peace and goodwill. And this film, too, leaves us with a question: why does the currently aggressive Iran want the world, especially our chunk of it, to see what it is "really" like?
Sparse of plot, Iron Island is visually rich, thanks to cinematographer Reza Jalai. The final scene is especially stunning.
Three wishes, one nightmare.