Tehran Taboo

The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg

Subtlety and aesthetic elegance — the jerky animation complements the blunt tone — are not among the film’s virtues. Tehran Taboo aims to expose systemic hypocrisy; in that respect, it is brisk and bracing.

The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young

While its frank approach is refreshing, there is a sense of too much.

Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene

The film is full of astute, and poetically staged, critiques of the parallel worlds resulting from Iran's police state.

Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein

That the film is animated, yet feels so thoroughly real, is a testament to its vivid use of rotoscoping as well as a solid script by director Ali Soozandeh, an Iranian expatriate.

RogerEbert.com by Godfrey Cheshire

Using skillful, involving storytelling and beautifully executed rotoscoped photography, director Ali Soozandeh creates a world of intersecting urban miseries and challenges.

The Guardian by Leslie Felperin

The script crackles with such bleak little jokes like this, relieving the tension in a work that could otherwise prove overwhelmingly depressing and borderline melodramatic.

New York Post by Sara Stewart

It’s a more somber companion to Marjane Satrapi’s 2007 film “Persepolis,” which explored life under the Iranian Revolution with dark humor: Here, the laughter’s mostly a prelude to tears.

The Observer (UK) by Wendy Ide

The characters and plotting tend to be a little schematic, but just because the trajectories of the women’s narratives are predictable, it doesn’t follow that the story lacks power. On the contrary – this is fearless, potent storytelling.