Search - The Suitors on DVD

Hidden gem

Ann M. Kibbey | Boulder, CO United States | 03/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this film for its brilliant cinematography, it's unique plot, its witty approach to its subject, in all for being one of the best and most original films I've seen in the last ten years. I happened on it by accident, but have returned to it many times since, always with new satisfaction. The story is about an Iranian woman who comes to NY with her new husband. (It's an arranged marriage--he's lived in NY for some time and has gone back to Iran to retrieve his new bride, whom he hardly knows.) As it turns out, he's conservative but she's not. Although she arrives fully veiled in the traditional chador of Iran, New York provides her with opportunities to live differently and she takes them. An exciting and suspenseful film with an unforgettable plot, including a very endearing sheep. It is also truly feminist in a way that other American films are not. Not like any other American film, and not like any Iranian film either. Easy to watch, very entertaining, yet underneath a sophisticated work based on a profound understanding of the cinematic image. I did a bit of research on this film and discovered it was selected for the Cannes film festival when it was released in 1988. The writer/director is an Iranian who immigrated to the U.S. and became a U.S. citizen. He made the film in New York, where he lives. This is a film that was ahead of its time and deserves to be far more widely known than it is. A great film it you are just looking for something interesting and different to watch. Also a great film if you are a film critic interested in the best of contemporary film."