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Leila's Brothers

Play trailer Poster for Leila's Brothers 2022 2h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
At 40 years old, Leila has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. The family argues constantly and is crushed by debts, in a country caught in the grip of international economic sanctions. As her brothers are trying to make ends meet, Leila formulates a plan: to start a family business that would save them for poverty. While they are in desperate need of financial support, Leila finds out that their father Esmail has secretly been hiding a family heirloom. He had been saving it as an offering to become the new Patriarch of the clan, the highest honor in the Persian tradition. This uncovering will bring chaos to the already fragile family dynamics. As the father’s health deteriorates, the actions of each family member will gradually lead the family one step closer to implosion.

Critics Reviews

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Katie Karp Austin Chronicle The display of sibling love and support is heartwarming, reminding the American audience in their highly individualistic society what it means to be selfless. Apr 21, 2023 Full Review David Jenkins Little White Lies A film whose every frame and line of dialogue is calculated to perfection, and the kind of credibly intricate plotting – with new reveals parcelled out like small gifts – that keeps you compelled (and then some) from the first frame till the last. May 26, 2022 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian A big, absorbing, character-driven family drama in the Italian-American style with fierce performances, a huge set-piece wedding scene and touches of Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers and Coppola’s The Godfather. Rated: 4/5 May 25, 2022 Full Review Stephanie Bunbury Deadline Hollywood Daily The small dramas of these very ordinary people play out in a beautifully modulated series of mistakes and missteps, always stopping short of a final crisis or dramatic climax promising resolution. That would sound a false note; there are no false notes. Sep 21, 2023 Full Review Michael Sicinski In Review Online This is a long, bad film about pontificating imbeciles who barely resemble actual human beings, and the whole mess is played as if it were some sort of Greek tragedy. Apr 8, 2023 Full Review Rene Sanchez Cine Sin Fronteras A fascinating family saga that explores the complex relationships between parents, children and siblings, and the fight against a patriarchal society. [Full Review in Spanish] Rated: 4/4 Dec 31, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Samir S Saeed Roustayi's Leila's Brothers is an intimate portrait of a family stretched to its breaking point, led by Leila (Taraneh Alidoosti), whose life becomes a ledger balancing debt, duty, and resilience. Set against Iran's economic turmoil, the film funnels a nation's struggle through the lens of one household. Roustaee places us in the cramped rooms, capturing micro-explosions of anger, desperation, and fleeting tenderness. The film's power lies in its psychological clarity: Leila's rage reveals itself in a slow burn of managing chaos while being invisible. Taraneh Alidoosti's performance is magnetic, holding in tension between what is said and left unsaid. Economics, traditions, and aspirations collide in the small dramas of daily survival: a wedding, a business pitch, a heated argument. Each scene reflects larger forces, sanctions, patriarchal expectations, class anxiety, without ever losing focus on the human centers at its core. Leila's Brothers is a film that leaves you unsettled, as it lets you feel the small tremors beneath. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/28/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Leila's Brothers

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Cast & Crew

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Saeed Roustayi

Director

Taraneh Alidoosti

Leila

Navid Mohammadzadeh

Alireza

Peyman Moaadi

Manouchehr

Mohammad Ali Mohammadi

Farhad

Farhad Aslani

Parviz

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Leila's Brothers

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Movie Info

Synopsis At 40 years old, Leila has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. The family argues constantly and is crushed by debts, in a country caught in the grip of international economic sanctions. As her brothers are trying to make ends meet, Leila formulates a plan: to start a family business that would save them for poverty. While they are in desperate need of financial support, Leila finds out that their father Esmail has secretly been hiding a family heirloom. He had been saving it as an offering to become the new Patriarch of the clan, the highest honor in the Persian tradition. This uncovering will bring chaos to the already fragile family dynamics. As the father’s health deteriorates, the actions of each family member will gradually lead the family one step closer to implosion.
Director
Saeed Roustayi
Producer
Javad Noruzbegi, Saeed Roustayi
Screenwriter
Saeed Roustayi
Production Co
Iris Film, The Searchers NV
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Runtime
2h 45m