"Beautiful
City" (A Feature Film in Farsi with English Subtitles, from Iran)
How
much is a woman''s life worth in comparison to a man''s in Iran-and who
pays the difference? Director-writer Asghar Farhadi melds and examination of
Iran''s ancient capital punishment
laws with a tender look at retribution, compassion and love. Faced with the
death penalty for killing his girlfriend at age 16, Akbar is moved to an adult
prison at 18 to await execution. The young man''s life can be spared, but only if
the victim''s family requests clemency. Akbar''s friend and former prison mate
A''la is determined to save him. Aided by Akbar''s sister, Firoozheh, A''la must
persuade Rahmati, the angry, elderly father of the murdered girl to waive
Akbar''s punishment. But, Rahmati is dealing with the urgent needs of his second
wife and her crippled daughter, and A''la must come up with money to change
Rahmati''s mind. When A''la begins to fall in love with Firoozheh, he must
ultimately make a harrowing choice between loyalty to a friend and desire.
Beautiful City is a piercing tale of
vengeance, labyrinthine judicial procedure and the concept of blood money.
(Running time: 101 minutes)
Location:
NY NATAS
1375 Broadway
New York
,
NY 10018
Date: Oct. 30, 2006, 1 p.m. - Oct. 30, 2006, 3 p.m.