Details
Twenty somethings Amir and Narges have found what feels like true love in their hometown by the coast of the Caspian sea. But in today's Iran that's far from enough to build a life together, and they are forced to keep the relationship secret. To win over Narges' upper class family and pay an appropriate dowry, Amir needs money, and he needs it fast. With his back against the wall, Amir finds work at a local fishery, where he is drawn into the dangerous but lucrative business of black market caviar smuggling. As Amir's values are compromised by the illegal underworld, Narges stalls for time and tries to delay the arranged marriage her parents are planning for her. Can their love, hopes and dreams survive the tightly knit web of tradition, corruption, and social hierarchy that continues to rule over the lives of a new generation in Iran?
Accolades
Trivia
This German film was shot entirely in Iran—a remarkable achievement that would be challenging today given the current political climate in Iran.
Critics
...'engrossing... portrait of entrenched inequality and diminished opportunities in contemporary Iran'
VARIETY
...'a Gritty Iranian Gut Punch'
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Meet the Cast
Director's Statement
Young people have the feeling they cannot breathe; I have always felt that. Also, they feel a longing for many things, and I wanted to show that without moralising. To achieve that, I decided to have three main characters, each with a different path and embodying different qualities. Amir is the worker, the one who struggles; Narges comes from a wealthy family that is entrenched in traditions, rules and social constraints; and Omid is more of a dreamer, an intellectual. What does this world do to these three people? Something different happens to each of them. I wanted to let young Iranian people have their say and show the world that there are other sides to Iran, too...
The sea is actually the fourth-most-important character in the film. It is a symbol of destiny. Sometimes it is our friend, sometimes our enemy. It has different faces that I wanted to show, and to achieve that, we worked with the sounds and the weather.
