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Darbareye Elly

2009 1h 59m Drama Mystery & Thriller List
99% Tomatometer 72 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A young teacher disappears before being introduced to a potential suitor in northern Iran.
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Darbareye Elly

Darbareye Elly

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Critics Consensus

About Elly offers viewers performances as powerful as its thought-provoking ideas, and adds another strong entry to Asghar Farhadi's impressive filmography.

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Critics Reviews

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Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Farhadi has written a first-rate script, enabling intricate plotting to intertwine with well-defined characters, and "About Elly" shows him at ease with the wide variety of situations his writing explores. Jul 9, 2015 Full Review Tom Long Detroit News By the time the mystery is solved, it hardly seems to matter. What matters is the casual lack of honesty that almost everyone seems to depend on. Rated: A Jun 26, 2015 Full Review Walter V. Addiego San Francisco Chronicle It's an incisive portrait of a particular society, but it should resonate everywhere. Rated: 3/4 May 20, 2015 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies “About Elly” is a near hypnotic experience whether it’s the fascinating mystery akin to Antonioni’s brilliant “L’Avventura” or the stimulating character study/morality play that puts each character under a microscope. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 19, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Farhadi peels back layer after layer of the story to heighten the dramatic stakes, gradually revealing his cultural commentary. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 20, 2022 Full Review Patrick Gamble CineVue Farhadi once again reveals himself to be a master of the morality tale, beautiful presenting a series of encounters in which each character is morally and ethically questioned. Rated: 4/5 Feb 2, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A wonderful dramatic movie. Perfect casting by top Iranian actors, wonderful shots, smart story line and heavily unsettling. This movie constantly makes you incredibly nervous and then gives you a time to rest, which makes it a lovely roller coaster. The interrupting scene of showing Taraneh Alidoosti (Elly) flying kite horrifyingly hints you the drowning of Arash, and it's one of the best scenes in the movie. The casting is superb, especially Goshifteh Farahani (Sepideh) as a desperate person. The only problem I had with this movie was Shaham Hosseini (Ahmad), as he didn't quit look like a person who had just lost his lover, although it is explainable to some extends. In the end, I quit enjoyed the movie and I think it deserves 5 stars. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review júlio a Rapaz, que filme que me trouxe diversos sentimentos. Achei que iria virar filme de terror, depois achei que a mulher era terrorista, a agonia da cena da praia.. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I have ambivalent feelings about this film which, I suppose, is a positive. I disliked a lot of the personalities, particularly the "brother"/fiancé, who was a clueless idiot and a jerk. But I quite liked Elly herself, as well as Ahmed, the divorcé ​her friend is intent on setting her up with. In similar fashion, I loved the scenery and landscape near the Caspian Sea, although I would have preferred to see more of the coast rather than just the limited seascape outside the rented villa. <br> The scenes on the road were interesting, as well, limited though they were. The traffic infrastructure looks to be similar to the UAE and other countries of that region which I have visited. <br> By the way, being interested in all things Persian, I take special note of any clues I come across in these films about what life in Iran might be like. From one offhand comment one of the characters made, it sounds like the roadway turns one-way at the end of the weekend when everyone is headed back to Tehran, with people simply taking over the northbound lanes to increase the number of lanes heading south. <br> I guess it's up to people who want to travel north to plan accordingly, knowing that that's just what happens. And it even makes sense in some respects, I suppose, in that it facilitates flow where flow is most needed. But I guess I'd probably say I prefer the way we do things here where we're a little more totalitarian about traffic regulation, on the one hand, and much less extreme about regulating people's personal lives on the other. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review robbie v Interesting drama. Rules of engagement in Iran are very different to the West. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member First of all, it is a 2009 movie, and not a 2015! I remember it was very impressive when I watched it. How small lies could have an accumulative effect and cause a real catastrophe. Plus, it shows very original nuances of an Iranian average lifestyle. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review david l Thanks to excellent direction, fantastic characterization and a great script, About Elly is another Asghar Farhadi classic that benefits from a very well utilized seaside setting into the tumultuous narrative. The movie's at its best in the second act with the gripping drama that ensued and many enthralling arguments. The performances are also excellent with Golshifteh Farahani being the standout in such a terrific role. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Darbareye Elly

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Cast & Crew

Ghosted 7% 17% Ghosted Wasted on the Young 60% 48% Wasted on the Young Of Good Report 83% 60% Of Good Report I, Anna 61% 49% I, Anna The Past 92% 83% The Past Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A young teacher disappears before being introduced to a potential suitor in northern Iran.
Director
Asghar Farhadi
Producer
Asghar Farhadi, Simaye Mehr, Mahmoud Razavi
Screenwriter
Asghar Farhadi, Azad Jafarian
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 11, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$106.7K
Runtime
1h 59m
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