news & archives —
the world of fundamentalism

popular film in iran expresses dissent
from the Eeconomist subscription only

“DISENCHANTED by their theocratic government, many Iranians enjoy the not uncommon sight of a gowned cleric standing helplessly at the side of the road, hailing taxis that refuse to stop. They make fun of akhunds, an impolite word for mullahs, and crack jokes about seminarians whose ambition is to parrot their teachers' every banality. Iranians have always chuckled in private. ”
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“ "Marmulak" punctures clerical self-esteem more comprehensively than any Iranian film since the ayatollahs took power in 1980. The film shows Reza, resplendent in gown and turban, flirting with a comely widow, picking the pocket of a Tehran swell and fluffing his lines after inadvertently becoming prayer leader of a small-town mosque.”
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“ [...] it has enjoyed the most successful opening in Iranian film history.”

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