100
San Francisco Chronicle by G. Allen Johnson
In watching Ava, a visually inviting and sharp portrait of teenage life in Iran, one must admire how writer-director Sadaf Foroughi was able to play her own tune in life.
Ava
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Iran,
- Canada,
- Qatar
- 2017
- · 102m
Director
Sadaf Foroughi
Cast
Mahour Jabbari,
Vahid Aghapoor,
Parnian Akhtari,
Sarah Alimoradi,
Mona Ghiasi
Genre
Drama
Living with her well-to-do parents in Tehran, Ava is a bright and focused teen whose concerns — friendships, music, social status, academic performance — resemble that of nearly any teenager. But when pressured by her suspicious and overprotective mother, Ava begins to rebel against against the strictures imposed by her school and the society at large.
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What are critics saying?
90
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Lurching relentlessly from one conflict to another, the movie distills its emotions — and maintains its momentum — in conversations of remarkably controlled intensity.
90
Village Voice by Danny King
Foroughi’s movie surveys how the mounting external pressures in Ava’s life bring her to a near-breaking point, and the director has devised (with the cinematographer, Sina Kermanizadeh) an explosive visual grammar to approximate the depths of Ava’s isolation and pain.
83
The Playlist by Lena Wilson
This is one of the most thoughtful films about the female experience to debut in recent years, and should be mandatory viewing for anyone eager to engage with confidently-made, skillful art cinema.
83
IndieWire by Kate Erbland
It’s gut-punch cinema, uneasy and unpredictable, though Foroughi keeps it clicking right along into the rare open ending that feels earned.
80
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Ava is made with superb technique and real style.
80
The Observer (UK) by Wendy Ide
The 0-60 acceleration of disaster and melodrama is a little disconcerting, as is the tendency to self-sabotage demonstrated by Ava and her mother. But there’s a jagged emotional authenticity scored into the film like initials carved into a desk.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor
The film's bitter exposé of life under a theocracy is unforgettable
75
RogerEbert.com by Tomris Laffly
A contemporary, gradually darkening coming-of-age tale of an Iranian teenage girl in Tehran, feel so familiar that universal is the only apt way to characterize them.
75
The Film Stage by Leonardo Goi
Foroughi’s assured debut remains a welcomed and insightful reminder that the patriarchy Ava struggles against is still alive and kicking. Stories like hers will hardly ever grow old.
75
RogerEbert.com
A contemporary, gradually darkening coming-of-age tale of an Iranian teenage girl in Tehran, feel so familiar that universal is the only apt way to characterize them.
38
Slant Magazine by Jake Cole
The film's constant cruelty is so inescapable that it starts to feel unfair not only to the protagonist, but to Iran itself.
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