Leila

Reza and Leila, an attractive and affluent young couple deeply in love and recently married, discover that Leila is unable to conceive. Although Reza steadfastly insists that it matters not in the least, his mother feels otherwise: she is determined that her son have children and continue the family line. Invoking tradition, she convinces her daughter-in-law that Reza must, out of necessity, take a second wife to produce an heir. The heartbreak that follows is so eloquently recorded that the final outcome is "in a word, devastating." (The New York Times)

This provocative, eloquent and ultimately devastating story, from "Iran's longest-running cinematic master" (Village Voice), is a stunning portrayal of the clash between tradition and modern marriage; between manipulation and the power of love.

American audiences used to the fable-like Iranian films of Abbas Kairostami (A Taste of Cherry) and Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon) may be startled by Dariush Mehrjui's devastating modern melodrama, Leila. Set firmly in the urban world of contemporary Tehran, this story of a couple pressured by family and tradition into destroying their happy union is a window into a world uneasily straddling the past and present. Happily married but childless, Leila and Reza are pressured by Reza's mother to keep the family name alive. When Reza refuses to take a second wife (polygamy is still legal in Iran) the mother-in-law goes to work on Leila, beating down her resistance with a mix of pleading, haranguing, and outright lies, until the couple limply gives in.

Mehrjui's subdued, subtle approach rolls with the gentle rhythms of a slow-paced society like many of his contemporaries, but underneath the surface calm is a churning sea of emotions: betrayal, abandonment, guilt, and grief. While the story can stand as a metaphor for the power of tradition in a modern world, Mehrjui's heart is with Leila's desperation and sorrow while she flails for support, even while helping choose her husband's bride. Dariush Mehrjui has been described as the godfather of Iranian cinema, and has repeatedly clashed with Iranian censors while pushing the envelope of social issues. This understated but vivid tragedy is witness to his place in cinematic history. --Sean Axmaker