Twenty-four years ago, an Iranian wife and mother was falsely accused by her husband of adultery, in order that he might marry a fourteen year-old girl without having to support two families or return a dowry. The local pederast Mullah collaborated in fabricating evidence and railroading a conviction. She was buried to the waist, then stoned to a bloody pulp by the village's men, including her sons and father.

The Stoning of Soraya M. is a movie about this brutal crime. It can be difficult to tell a story in which the ending is vividly telegraphed in the title, but the filmmakers nonetheless relentlessly draw the audience in. The setting is misogynistic and claustrophobic. The characters are desperate and sympathetic. The framing device (a journalist stumbling on the facts) perfectly heightens the drama.

But this is hardly entertainment. Most scenes are filmed in bright sunlight, but it is the camera that shines a blinding light on male prejudice, evil religion, and black motives. Muslim women, trapped between the misogyny of their religion's founder and the selfish privilege of sick cultures, have found a worthy advocate in this film.

Nearly as sad as the Soraya's fate, however, has been this film's obscurity. Its entire domestic gross equaled approximately fifteen minutes worth of Avatar's opening weekend. I am writing this review in the hopes that at least one person will watch this painful movie, and be moved by it.

Rated R for a realistic portray of stoning, which is a ridiculous commentary on the rating system, as this film is actually beneficial for teenagers, in contradistinction to the soul-destroying toxins in most PG-13 movies.


Related Reviews:
Osama (2003)
The Syrian Bride (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Big Hollywood (Joe Bendel)
The Huffington Post (Chip Hanlon)





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