Customer Reviews

Leila

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an outstanding and compelling film with moving, superlative performances by the cast. The film chronicles the marriage of a young, Iranian couple, Leila and Reza, in modern day Tehran. They are affluent, attractive and very much in love. All is well, until they realize that Leila is barren and unable to bear children. While Leila and Reza appear to have come to terms with this, Reza's mother has not. She begins an almost daily harangue on the issue of her only son taking a second wife, a move which is perfectly legal in Iran.

The mother-in-law does not let up, appealing to Leila's sense of tradition and family obligation. Though Reza insists that he does not care if he has children, he does not stop his mother's constant harangue of Leila. Slowly but surely, Leila's resistance to the idea of a second wife begins to erode, and her mother-in-law ultimately convinces her that Reza must have a child of his blood, and as Leila cannot meet this obligation, a second wife is a must.

The film takes the viewer through the process of the selection of the second wife and Leila's role in that process. One sees the personal devastation that this causes her. One senses Reza's ambivalence about the matter and his reluctance in taking a second wife. Yet, such is the power of love and deft manipulation that both Leila and Reza continue with actions that further this cause, until the moment of truth arrives. The reality is one which is nigh unbearable.

This is an absolutely mesmerizing film. Leila Hatami, as Leila, gives a beautifully moving, well nuanced, award calibre performance. One feels the depth of her distress over this situation, and the viewer's heart breaks for her, as her own heart is breaking. Ali Mossafa is terrific as the ineffectual Reza, who is unable to stand up to his mother.

The love between Leila and Reza is palpable, and it shines throughout the film, even though the two do not physically touch during the film, as it is forbidden for them to do so publicly. Leila is shrouded in traditional style, as are all the women in the film. Yet, interestingly enough, the women are very independent, assertive, and opinionated. It is an iteresting melange of the modern with the traditional.

The film is an eloquent portrayal of the clash between the modern marriage and tradition in a country that is in a state of flux. It is an incisive look at a culture in which a second wife is an option for consideration and at the potential impact of the exercise of such an option.

All in all, this is a fantastic film that opens the window onto another culture, so different to ours in so many ways, yet so alike in others. This is a beautifully wrought film that should be seen by as many viewers as is possible. It is an absolute masterpiece. Bravo!

This 1996 Iranian film, which was brought to American audiences in 1999, was written and directed by Dariush Mehrjui who was trained in filmmaking at UCLA and has gone on to produce many outstanding films in his native land. "Leila" is one of them, a drama that raises some very interesting socially conscious questions. In Farsi, with English subtitles, it puts the viewer right into the heart of Teheran. And right into the hearts and minds of Leila and Razi, a young affluent married couple.

There is no doubt that they are in love and their life is a happy one. They live in a modern, well-furnished house with a huge refrigerator and abundant wonderful food. They laugh a lot and exchange loving looks. And declare their love to each other all the time. He's a successful businessman and they get along well with their huge extended families of relatives. She's a beautiful woman, with huge dark eyes and fine features. Yes, she wears a black chador at all times, but I came to see it as simply the way that women dress in Iran.

Problem is that, in spite of modern medical techniques, Leila remains barren. Her husband Razi says he doesn't care. That he loves her just the way she is and doesn't want children. But then there's her controlling mother-in-law, who starts to bully Leila into accepting a second wife. In Iranian culture, polygamy is accepted, even though everyone around Leila, with the exception of the mother-in-law, is against this "second-wife" idea.

I found myself holding my breath as the pressures on Leila mounted and tensions increased. I couldn't stop watching as events unfolded. I felt all the conflicting emotions that Leila felt, as the story grew more and more intense. The decision was Leila's and she was given free will to make her choice. Over and over again, this concept of making a conscious choice was emphasized. That is what made this film great. I loved it.

i share the positive reviews written about this film;
however "first run features" studio managed in spoiling the beauty of the film totally...by releasing a DVD of poorest quality...you can't even see the facial features to recognize the actors...every frame is dark, cloudy and featureless.
I'm irritated by the greedy studios that want to make fast money with minimal effort possible from their side...
their pure incompetence succeeds in negating all the creative efforts in this movie...avoid this DVD.
in comparison, "the color of paradise" is a beautiful film released beautifully in DVD by columbia/tristar. 5 star

My wife and I were riveted from the first minute to the last, and there are very few films about which we can say this. You enter the lives of a couple and their families, and you will not soon forget them. In the best sense of great literature, the protagonists are parochial but the subject matter is thoroughly universal. Any couple that has ever discussed the question of whether marital love needs children will especially enjoy this deep, powerful film. The acting is so good, you begin to think you have entered real people's lives. In a sense you have.

This is one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time - in English or otherwise. With all the hysteria about Iran, it is easy to forget that there is suburbia in Iran just like in California. In fact, at times I forgot that I was watching in a movie shot in Iran. If you are interested in seeing an Iranian movie that is not a fairly tale, see this movie. Real metropolitian people, living real lives - of course with a modern Persian twist.

One wonders why so many great films are being made by Iranian Directors. With all focus on Iran as a confining religious state, one forgets that it s a country rich in cultural history. This is the story of a woman who can not bear children and the relentless schemes of the mother-in-law to break up the marriage. Leila slowly succumbs to the constant pressure and allows or rather prods her husband to seek out a second wife. The director does not allow the audience to easily pick heros and villians. With the exception of the mother-in-law (who one never likes) each character if filled with strength and weekness. One is intrigued and can't wait to see how the husband and wife will confront each scene. Part of the greatness of this film is that it portrays the universality of human feelings. While we get a peek into everyday life in Iran, we get to know that individuals are the same everywhere.

Leila is a startlingly well-acted tale of a happily married, upper middle class young couple in Tehran, who have everything they need, except for a child. The beautiful young Leila is very much in love with her husband, Reza, but their efforts to have a child are not successful. Reza is a man torn between his love for his wife, and his respect and duty to his family to produce an heir. Reza's mother interferes in his marriage, manipulating Leila into allowing her husband to take a second wife so that he may have a son.

Leila is an incredibly strong woman, with tremendous inner strength and character. Reza is weak, and his mother is manipulative and inconsiderate. The actress playing the mother-in-law is incredibly gifted. This film will make you angry and sad, you will feel heartbreak for Leila and also tremendous respect. Working within the confines of contemporary Iran, the director presents as intimate a portrait of the couple he is allowed to. Both painful and hopeful, this is an incredibly well-acted and directed film, filled with emotion and multi-dimensional characters.

this is a great movie. very powerful. something all people can relate to in some way. since it is not legal in iran for men and women to touch in movies, they have to be extremely creative and portray emotions such as love with so much depth that it doesnt need physical touching to portray it. american movie makers should take a tip or two from thse guys instead of putting out empty movies that too often trade human feeling for empty sex and violence.

there is a lot of public misconception in america about the arab world. but there are no camels, no desert, no people with turbans, and no oppressed women in this movie. these characters live much better than many americans, and the city is totally modern. this movie is a great tool for stamping out ignorance about the middle eastern culture and way of life. it's also a terrific movie too. you wont be disappointed.(...)

This movie again shatters the Hollywood myth that BIG budgets equal quality films. This film carrys a universal message that transcends culture,nationalilty,sex. So many women in the world live under equally humiliating circumstances. The film really shows how Leila rose above the petty people in her life who are trying to manipulate her and in the end outsmarts them all. I first saw this film in Los Angeles in 1999. My motel was in the heart of the Iranian Exile community in West Los Angeles and everyone there seemed to be talking about this film. I went to see it and was hooked. Since then I have seen other Iranian films , most of them from the Shah's time. It is tragic Ayatollah Khomeini was allowed to destroy Iran's once thriving Arts & Entertainment industry. It still exists to some degree in Los Angeles. The fact this film was allowed to be made by the clerical authorities is amazing given it's content. Leila Hatami is a lovely and talented actress who plays her role to perfection. Her real life husband plays her husband in the film is equally compelling as the well meaning yet at times insensitive husband. The actress who steals the film is the actress who plays the mother-in-law. You must own this film!

"Leila" reminds me "Kadosh" but unlike the latter, which is full of intentional inaccuracies and outright lies, it is a more sober attempt to look at the predicament of a barren woman in a traditional society. However, if we look at it from this perspective, the film is not effective: there are only one or two characters in this film who are pressing for the supposedly "traditional" line, while everybody else does not consider a woman's inability to conceive as anything disastrous. I think that this film is not so much about conflicts with tradition as it is about how people are so often unable to take control of their own lives, about how their little weaknesses lead to situations where things they clearly don't want to happen still happen. This is the real problem, and, to my mind, it could have been treated more seriously here. For example, I found it a bit unrealistic that there was not a single conversation on the topic between the main hero and his mother. Also, I did not understand why if everybody was against the proposed deal, nobody even tried to speak up. Finally, and this is most important, we do not see any "struggle" or any "development" on the part of Laila, we hear some sentimentally-voiced narrative but nothing else. The question may even be whether she ever loved her husband.. However, despite these drawbacks, I watched the film with interest and I liked very much the parts of it depicting family reunions, with plenty of food and music, warmness and mutual affection.