Under the Skin of the City

Rating:
Summary: Overworked mother burdened by family and work.
Review: After working long hours in a Tehran textile factory, Mrs. Tuba negotiates the lives of her troubled children, her reclusive husband, and an abused neighbor. Her children have various problems including skipping school, attending political demonstrations, staying in an abusive marriage, and constantly spending money on presents and expensive dinners. Much attention is focused on Abbas, the eldest child, who is trying desperately trying to obtain a Japanese visa to earn enough money to enable his elder mother to stop working. In between his work assignments Abbas admires an office worker and showers her with attention and gifts.

Throughout this film there are frequent scenes depicting the commotion of the busy highways of Tehran and its beautiful streets and shop fronts. Also included are numerous insights into the Iranian society and cultural customs. Unfortunately, I don't feel that this is a particularly strong film. The beginning was quite confusing and muddled together as the characters' relationships were never adequately defined. It wasn't until about halfway through that the plot started to come together. I believe that many nuances were lost in translation and that if I were more acquainted with this culture than I would have understood more of what occurred. I sincerely wonder if this film were taken out of the exotic location would there remain anything sufficient of the plot? Overall, this film is a typical family drama with minimal sparkles or highlights.