Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


The First Letter (2003)

Director: Abolfazl Jalili

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

In this autobiographical film from the director of Delbaran, Emkan (Morady, furrowed and intense) is a gifted student and prayer leader, but his creative and romantic impulses constantly lead him into trouble with the authorities at school, mosque and home. When he falls in love with a Jewish neighbour, whose father screens Exodus and Chaplin comedies at the cinema he owns, matters only get worse. Jalili's episodic chronicle of repression is eccentrically weighted and sometimes hard to follow, but it feels true and hard won (it's his 400 Blows, perhaps), and the boy's relationship with his father is especially moving.

Author: TCh

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing