Theo Robertson I always go in to a film open minded. If we're talking contemporary Iranian cinema then it almost certainly means one thing - static , neorealist cinema where the characters speak Sorani or Farsi instead of Italian. If there's one ironic thing in life you should make a note of then that is always expect to be surprised and CRIMSON GOLD took me out of my complacency and surprised me Directed by Jafar Panahi from a screenplay by Abbas Kiarostimi , this is the twin counter-offensive by the purveyors of Iranian New Wave cinema and both film makers exceed themselves in much the same way as CRIMSON GOLD exceeded my expectations. This is a film that mirrors the existentialist ethos of New Hollywood , a peak of 20th Century American film making and probably the best role model any aspiring film maker can learn from and I found myself constantly reminded of a criminally underrated Hollywood movie from 1978 called STRAIGHT TIME CRIMSON GOLD is essentially a crime drama , but the subtext screams despite individuals committing crimes against other individuals in pursuit of material greed this is relatively small fry compared to the crimes inflicted against the individual by a self elected self serving theocratic elite on the grounds of metaphysical principal The plotting isn't all that important . What is important is a number of pivotal scenes featuring Hussein ( An unfortunate name for a Persian) and how he fits in to the spectatorship of life in general and present day life of a deeply unpopular theocracy in particular . Perhaps the two most important ones are Hussein's conversation with the Pasdaran footsoldier outside an illegal party and the scene inside the house where nail varnish is mistaken for menstrual blood It goes without saying this was banned in Iran by The Ministry Of Culture And Islamic Justice for being "Too dark" and we're not talking about the cinematography here. I caught the film on youtube and unsurprisingly youtube internet access is impossible in Iran thanks to The Ministry Of Culture And Islamic Justice so if you've got the chance to see CRIMSON GOLD please watch it and count your secular democratic blessings which are presently denied to the oppressed people of Iran

mvl-7 According to the DVD booklet this movie can be compared to Taxi Driver. Well, the only thing I find similar is the pace of the camera-work and the speed in which the story unfolds. My god, what a very slow and boring movie! Normally, a slower pace can be an element of added value, or even a necessity. In this case, it's mainly annoying. It really doesn't add to the atmosphere of the story, its rather old-fashioned film-making. Maybe also because it doesn't lead anywhere. The storyline is thin, with a theme of wealth vs poor that I don't find very credible, mainly the ignorance of poor. The only positive point I can think of is that the movie gives some more insight in the environments of Teheran. Some newer good movies come from Iran, this just is not one of them. I watched the second part of the movie in fast-forward.

Amine Jaber Great script writing, served here by brilliant movie making by one of Iran's major directors. As we follow this character (Hussein) through his day to day life, we start to understand the scope of the film, and we discover new and startling images of Iran.This film is a strong political pamphlet, a vivid critic of the actual political and religious regime in power.The style of the film is very minimalist, and is mostly steady shots, with little editing. But the action and the rhythm of the story comes from what is happening inside the image.A must see for any foreigner who wants to understand what everyday life is in Iran.

aydin-t from the director of "The circle" and "The White balloon" comes another revolutionary film from the Iranian cinema, there are aspects in this film that only an Iranian would understand, or someone who is familiar with the situation in Iran, and how it crosses the red line many times. The film shows the huge gap in the society in Iran between the rich and the poor, too bad that this film attracts the wrong audience, some watch this film and expect the film to continue like what it was in the first few minutes. Another factor that makes this movie so great in the Iranian cinema is the techniques used in it, there were camera works that had never been done in the Iranian cinema, refer to the scene in which Hossein was lying in his bed to see this. overall i think this was a great movie and it gets a 10 out of 10 from my unbiased point of view.