Crimson Gold

A quietly brilliant film that uses the events leading up to a suicidal jewel robbery (shown in the opening scene, before the film flashes back to chart the actions of the culprit, a pizza deliveryman, and his likewise hapless partner in crime) to illuminate and reflect on social divisions in modern Tehran. Hussein is at first merely bemused by the contents of a lost purse Ali has found, but when he visits a jeweller's to buy a ring for his fiancée, he's made all too aware of his poverty and second class status. Later, a delivery to an apartment of almost obscene luxury seals his fate. Characteristically oblique, Kiarostami's telling script is at once poetic and precise, witty and compassionate, while Panahi's strong visual sense and expertise with untrained actors ensure that one is entranced throughout.