Tehran: City of Love | Dir: Ali Jaberansari | ★ ★ ★ ★ 

It doesn’t take long to realise that the title of the film is highly ironic. Following three lonely people through the city of Tehran as they look for love, the audience sees how the looking-for-love characters have to navigate a restrictive environment as well as their own desperation.

Personal trainer and former body builder Hessam (Amir Hessam Bakhtiari) develops feelings for the young man he is training. Hessam re-arranges his life to spend as much time with the handsome Arshi (Amir Reza Alizadah) as he trains, eats, showers and watches previous body building championships, but he is unable to speak of his hidden desire.

Mina (Forough Ghajabagli) is an overweight receptionist at a beauty clinic. Despite seeking diet advice from her doctor, ice-cream is her greatest comfort. She also seems to take delight in stalking male patients from the clinic, setting up meetings with her sexy phone-voice before reading sporting magazines and eating cake as the confused men search for their dates at the nominated cafe.

When Vahid (Mehdi Saki) is dumped by his fiancé, he decides to change from singing at funerals to performing at weddings in the hope of finding love. Despite changing his clothing his permanently melancholy voice is more suited to funerals, but he does form a friendship with a wedding photographer.

Needless to say, all the misguided attempts at relationships are doomed. Tragedy and comedy come together as the deadpan characters navigate their tales of unrequited love. The final scene is priceless as it is the first time the three of them are in the same place.

The 2019 Iranian Film Festival is on 14 – 20 November at Luna Leederville.

Now in its ninth year, the festival showcases a diverse range of the best and most interesting contemporary Iranian cinema and, through cinema, it introduces and provides a better understanding of Iranian culture. See iffa.net.au for more details.

Lezly Herbert