Under the Skin of the City (2001) User Reviews (5)

a rather brave look at the down-sides of Iranian society

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 December 2005]

I was pretty amazed when I watched this film because it was a brave look at some of the social problems a particular family has in Iran. There are several instances of spousal and child abuse in the film and although the lead character takes a fatalistic view, several of her children are enraged by it. I really enjoyed watching their daughter slug the neighbor who had been abusing her best friend--it really felt quite satisfying to watch. In addition, there are several societal problems (under-employment, the black market, etc.) that are discussed as well. I am really quite surprised that a movie coming out of Iran would take such a risk. Because of this, it is definitely worth a look.

This movie is not nearly as "pretty" as the fabulous Iranian films THE COLOR OF PARADISE or CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, but it helps to give a very different view of urban Iranian life.

excellent analysis of Iranian society through one family's fate

[ludovico-be · 8/10 · 17 August 2006]

This film is an excellent realist analysis of contemporary Iranian society, far removed from all the political cliché's that an uninformed Western audience might expect.

It gives you an acute sense of how it is to live in the oppressive society that Iran reveals itself to be, where especially women have nothing to hope for, and men and women alike have little economic prospect. The characters are played more than convincingly, plot is tight, in spite of following events in the lives of different members of the central family. Style is sober and direct but very efficient, and in the end hits you like an uppercut.

Certainly no entertainment, but one more striking example of the vitality of Iranian contemporary film.

I was expecting more closure

[nymichael2002 · 7/10 · 20 September 2005]

This movie is about a working class family living in Tehran. The matriarch of the family is trying to keep her family together while going through financial difficulties. The family is broke with only the mother and the oldest son working. The movie takes a real look at how the working class has to struggle in modern Iran. The acting was real and so where the scenarios but the movie left some issues unresolved. Such as what happens to Abbas, the oldest son and breadwinner, after he runs away from a drug dealer. We also never find out what happens to a next door neighbor's young daughter after she runs away from an abusive brother and gets arrested. I don't speak Farsi so I'm sure I lost a lot of the film's dialogue by reading the subtitles.

A surprisingly great film - Rakhshan Bani Etemad is a director to keep your eye on...

[davidals · 10/10 · 17 March 2004]

*MINOR SPOILERS*

Rakhshan Bani Etemad's earlier MAY LADY and NARGESS were quite impressive, and comparatively unrecognized in the US. Still I wasn't expecting the startling leap in skill evidenced in UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CITY. Weaving the many familial themes introduced in earlier works, Etemad broadens her palette a bit, balancing subtle (but complex) criticism of sexual politics in a very conservative society with broader glimpses of general social discontent, and the manner in which that discontent can produce upheaval in both personal and public worlds.

Weaving intricately between both (offering panoramic glimpses of Tehran which are all the more breathtaking because of their grittiness and restless energy), UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CITY centers around Tuba and her family of six - a married daughter reeling from increasingly brutal physical abuse (which - in this setting - is first blamed on the victim), an intelligent but increasingly restless younger daugther, and two sons - one (the older) supporting the family (along with his mother); the other still in high school and drifting into radical/left political agitation (in reaction to his family's poverty, the degradations inflicted upon the women around him, and the plainly visible chasm between rich and poor that this entire film turns on). The choice before the family to to leap for upward mobility, or risk sliding farther into poverty - but with either choice there are complications...

Throughout the film there are many stand-out moments: the opening (with Tuba's face, seen framed - or symbolically imprisoned - within a video document of the world of working women), the carefully composed scenes capturing the family home and neighborhood (reminiscent of the rather similar BEIJING BICYCLE; with both films updating and personalizing Italian neo-realism in spectacular fashion), and the many vibrant views of Tehran: this is a film that manages to capture a city and culture with tremendous affection, while still also offering articulate, tough-minded criticism - the end result is a creatively crafted film of great emotional power.

George Bush must hate Americans, because he wants to kill these people, who are... pretty much like ourselves.

[winner55 · 9/10 · 25 December 2007]

A well made, rather sad story about a traditional Iranian family having to confront the intrusions of the Modern era - represented by the realtor's greed and the young man's heroin addiction. The film-makers do not shy away from the fact that the current regime can only address these issues with dictates derived from sharia (muslim civil law), and that this does not yet - at least not yet as so far interpreted - provide solutions the characters can live with. Perhaps it will one day - the film-makers (wisely, I think) leave that matter open.

What we are left with here are very human, even painfully human, characters with all the problems humans confront everywhere on a daily basis - providing house and home to one's family; dealing with failed ambition and disappointed expectations; learning to live with a multitude of human weaknesses.

Gee, don't they sound like many Americans? And these are the people that George Bush wants destroyed? Well, never mind the big Texas yo-yo - fools are plentiful and, thankfully, shortlived.

The use of HDTV camera and the cramped spaces of the sets used (apparently real homes after all), may jar a little; but the passion - and honesty - behind the film is clear, and highly welcome. Also, of course, one can't say enough good about the acting here, it is all top notch.

A brilliant and insightful little film that more Americans need to witness.