Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi) is in prison because of a debt he cannot repay. During a two-day furlough, he tries to persuade his creditor (his brother-in-law, of all people) to withdraw the claim in exchange for payment of part of the sum.
However, the cards are reshuffled when Rahim's new girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldoost) finds a woman's handbag containing valuable gold coins at the bus stop in front of a bank. The gold price is low, according to the gold dealer consulted, and the creditor refuses to make a partial payment. However, Rahim, who also has to look after his stuttering son, has moral doubts.
As an honest finder, he reports the find to the bank, searches for the rightful owner and suddenly finds himself at the heroic center of a media event with which the prison administration propagates the “moral transformation” of its inmate... and with which the drama by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (“Nader and Simin - A Separation”, “The Salesman”) really picks up speed in terms of morality and projections of the outside world.
"This grippingly staged drama, photographed with magical clarity, takes us into that gray area where selfish and altruistic behavior are not easy to distinguish from one another. The growing cascade of discrepancies, half-truths and insinuations leads to a disaster that is escalated into a social monstrosity by social media and questions the categories of honor and dishonor that are central to Iranian society. - Worth seeing" (Encyclopedia of International Film)
Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi) is in prison because of a debt he cannot repay. During a two-day furlough, he tries to persuade his creditor (his brother-in-law, of all people) to withdraw the claim in exchange for payment of part of the sum.
However, the cards are reshuffled when Rahim's new girlfriend Farkhondeh (Sahar Goldoost) finds a woman's handbag containing valuable gold coins at the bus stop in front of a bank. The gold price is low, according to the gold dealer consulted, and the creditor refuses to make a partial payment. However, Rahim, who also has to look after his stuttering son, has moral doubts.
As an honest finder, he reports the find to the bank, searches for the rightful owner and suddenly finds himself at the heroic center of a media event with which the prison administration propagates the “moral transformation” of its inmate... and with which the drama by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (“Nader and Simin - A Separation”, “The Salesman”) really picks up speed in terms of morality and projections of the outside world.
"This grippingly staged drama, photographed with magical clarity, takes us into that gray area where selfish and altruistic behavior are not easy to distinguish from one another. The growing cascade of discrepancies, half-truths and insinuations leads to a disaster that is escalated into a social monstrosity by social media and questions the categories of honor and dishonor that are central to Iranian society. - Worth seeing" (Encyclopedia of International Film)