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June 25, 2009

Exclusive: Movie Review – ‘The Stoning of Soraya M.’

Pam Meister

A young woman is killed by a stray bullet in the streets of Tehran during the current political uprising in Iran. Her name is Neda. Her death, caught on video and seen around the world via YouTube, became a symbol for everyone in Iran who is a victim of the oppressive regime of the Khomeinists, those responsible for the Islamic revolution three decades ago and who have turned the nation of Iran into the dictatorship of today – its so-called electoral process a joke to anyone with a conscience.

The death of another young woman also becomes symbolic of the oppression of the people of Iran. However, her death transcends one nation and represents the oppression of women throughout the Middle East and everywhere Sharia law is the law of the land. And unlike Neda of today, her death was not mercifully quick, nor was it a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her death was slow, painful, and brought about by one man’s desire to be rid of a burden, assisted by others who are easily swayed, easily bullied, or easily fooled – or some combination of the three.

I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that the young woman, Soraya, is stoned to death – the name of the film is, after all, The Stoning of Soraya M, which opens in limited release around the nation on Friday, June 26th (see the theater list at the end of this review). But despite knowing what was coming, I was still stunned. Shocked. Horrified. Saddened. Angered. These are just some of the words that come to mind when watching this powerful film.

Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Path to 9/11) and written by Nowrasteh and his wife Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, Soraya is based on the 1995 true story book of the same name by Freidoune Sahebjam. Sahebjam, an Iranian journalist who was sentenced to a death fatwa in abstentia for his reporting on the crimes of the Islamic Republic, continued to return incognito to Iran to investigate sensitive issues surrounding the Tehran Islamic Regime. It is during one of his covert trips that he meets, purely by chance, Soraya’s aunt Zahra (played by Shohreh Aghdashloo). Zahra is determined that the tragic farce played out in the name of Sharia “justice” shall not be confined to the walls of her small village, to be buried and forgotten. She is determined that the world shall know of the horror that played out there just the day before she meets Sahebjam (played by Jim Caviezel), who is stranded in the village as he waits for his car to be repaired by the local mechanic. Seeing a tape recorder in his bag, Zahra manages to pique his interest despite his initial skepticism, and she tells him of the final days of Soraya (played by Mozhan Marnò).

Beautiful cinematography belies the ugly human nature on display. The stark location of the village – due to the movie’s offensive nature to Islamists, filming took place in a remote village in an undisclosed Middle Eastern country – matches the bleak lives of the women who fare worse under the new Islamic regime. Pictures of the Ayatollah Khomeini are everywhere, lest anyone forget who’s now in charge, and women move about the village covered by their chadors, lest they offend anyone by showing themselves.

Soraya is married to Ali (played by Navid Negahban), who has tired of his wife after 20 years of marriage and yearns for a younger woman – a 14-year-old. The problem lies in his inability to support two wives, and he is trying to divorce Soraya. For her part, she is unhappy being married to the cruel and unfaithful Ali, but won’t divorce him because she won’t be able to support herself or her two daughters, whom Ali would happily throw out in the street with Soraya – keeping their sons with him, of course. When the family is eating dinner, Ali is verbally and physically abusive toward Soraya, and it’s obvious that his two sons have been indoctrinated into what Ali tells them is “a man’s world. Never forget that, boys.”

Because Soraya won’t go along with his plans for a divorce, Ali must come up with another arrangement, and he begins to weave an evil plot of deception that eventually ensnares the whole village. He relies on the frailties of human nature to help him attain his goal, including greed, jealousy, and anger. Key players in this terrible scheme are the Mullah (played by Ali Pourtash), Ebrahim, the mayor (played by David Diaan), and Hashem, the village mechanic (played by Parviz Sayyad).

When writing the script, the Nowrastehs stayed true to the real-life characters, but felt they needed to add shading to the characters of the men in order to more broadly reflect how different people react under extreme peer pressure and mob rule. “Frankly, we humanized many of the male characters to show their inner conflicts and dilemmas, whereas in the book they are all evil to the core,” said Cyrus. Each of these men has a reason for his complicity, and while some of their reasoning is almost understandable, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. Ali, however, remains untouched by the Nowrastehs. His evil cannot be airbrushed.

Something seen often throughout the film are characters fiddling with prayer beads, especially Ali and the Mullah, who act together as ringleaders in this travesty. It’s an action that is representative of the false piety that calls upon them to “cleanse” the village of the “defilement” allegedly brought upon it by Soraya. During the stoning, the Mullah tells the men present that “with each stone you throw, your honor will return.” This is why such murders are called “honor killings,” as they are meant to restore the honor of the family when a woman brings “shame” upon it (usually in a sex related manner).

One of the most compelling sequences in the film happens as Soraya prepares to die, saying goodbye to her daughters and passing on what little worldly goods she has to them. Meanwhile the men and boys of the village prepare for the stoning by digging a large pit and collecting stones that will be hurled at the immobilized Soraya less than an hour later.

It’s hard to believe that the stoning scene (achieved by a combination of puppetry, stunt performers and CGI) was scaled back from the reality of stoning deaths, the type of which continue to occur around the world today. For guidance, director Nowrasteh not only read the detailed scene in the book, but watched frightening, covert footage of real stonings. He said, “All I can tell you is that compared to what I saw and read, the scene in the movie is far less graphic than it could have been.” Regardless, there is enough violence and attendant emotion to justify bringing a box of tissues, including when Soraya’s sons are exhorted to stone their own mother, “Go ahead, boys. For God.”

One question remains: if the men are so sure that their actions are justified and sanctioned by God, why do they try so hard to keep Zahra from telling the itinerant journalist about it?

First-rate performances are delivered by a first-rate cast. Except for the parts where Zahra is relating her tale to Sahebjam in English, the entire film is in Farsi with English subtitles, which aids the viewer in immersing himself in Soraya’s world: a world where supremacist religious fanaticism and misogyny collide with stomach-turning results.

This is a film that should not be missed. As we left the screening room, I heard one woman say, “The timeliness of this is frightening.” This is true, but unfortunately, such honor killings happen around the world where Sharia law rules, not just in Iran. It’s time for the disinfection of sunlight to do its work on this most shameful state of affairs.

Due to the film’s graphic nature, I would not recommend it for anyone under 17 (hence R the rating).

Rated R (cruel and brutal violence)

1 hr 56 min

Pam Meister is the editor of FamilySecurityMatters.org.

LIST OF THEATERS AND OPENING DATES:

ARIZONA
Scottsdale, AZ Camelview 5 Theaters 7/10/09

CALIFORNIA
Santa Monica, CA Monica 4 Plex 6/26/09
Beverly Hills, CA Music Hall 6/26/09
Encino, CA Town Center 5 6/26/09
Pasadena, CA Playhouse 7 Cinemas 6/26/09
Irvine, CA Westpark 8 Cinemas 6/26/09
San Francisco, CA Clay Theatre 6/26/09
Berkeley, CA Shattuck Cinemas 10 6/26/09
La Jolla, CA La Jolla Village Cinema 7/10/09
San Jose, CA Camera 3 6/26/09
Marin, CA Cinearts at Marin 6/26/09

COLORADO
Denver, CO Chez Artiste 6/26/09

CONNECTICUT
Hartford, CT Cinema City 4 7/10/09
New Haven, CT Criterion Cinemas 7 7/10/09

GEORGIA
Atlanta, GA UA Tara Cinema 7/24/09

ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL Landmark's Century Centre Cinema 6/26/09

MARYLAND
Bethesda, MD Bethesda Row Cinema 6/26/09

MASSACHUSETTS
Cambridge, MA Kendall Square Cinema 6/26/09

MICHIGAN
Bloomfield Hills, MI Maple Art Theatre 6/26/09

MINNESOTA
Minneapolis, MN Uptown Theater 6/26/09
Edina, MN Edina 4 Theater 7/3/09

MISSOURI
Frontenac, MO Plaza Frontenac Cinema 7/10/09

NEW JERSEY
Rocky Hill, NJ Montgomery 6 6/26/09
Montclair, NJ Clairidge Cinemas 3 6/26/09

NEW YORK
East Village, NY Sunshine Cinema 6/26/09
Jamaica, NY Kew Gardens Cinemas 6 6/26/09
Malverne, NY Malverne Cinema 4 6/26/09
Roslyn Heights, NY Clearview's Roslyn Cinema s 6/26/09

OHIO
Cleveland Heights, OH Cedar Lee Theater 7/10/09

OREGON
Portland, OR Regal Fox Tower Stadium 10 7/10/09

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia, PA Ritz 5 Movies 6/26/09

TEXAS
Austin, TX Regal Arbor Cinema at Great Hills 7/10/09
Dallas, TX Magnolia Theater 7/10/09
Houston, TX Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 24 6/26/09
Houston, TX Angelika Film Center 6/26/09

WASHINGTON STATE
Seattle, WA Harvard Exit Theater 7/17/09

WASHINGTON DC
Washington, DC E Street Cinema 6/26/09

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