Review of The Persian Version, directed by Maryam Keshavarz

When I first saw that The Persian Version was a legitimate movie that was coming out, I was so thrilled and knew I wanted to see it if came to a theater anywhere near me.

As an Iranian American writer, creative, and film critic, I am acutely aware that our forms of representation are sparse in the landscape of American media and literary spheres.

I didn’t think that this was going to show up in the theaters near me due to the lack of Iranians in the area, but when I saw it was there for a few days, I jumped on it.

So my sister and I booked our seats and geared up to see The Persian Version on a cold Sunday night.

We were the only ones in our theater, but that was fine—I did wish more people in the area would go and see these kinds of movies, but we’ll take any form of representation we can get right now.

And man, I didn’t imagine to be laughing and relating so hard with these characters—we wished that it would be turned into a miniseries even!

Before I start rambling too much, let’s get into the review.

An intergenerational Iranian American tale on trauma and mommy issues.

Our protagonist in The Persian Version is Leila, who struggles with her identity. She tells us that she is too American for Iran, but too Iranian for America.

She’s the only daughter of many different siblings, so of whom are successful, others not as much (and when I say successful, I’m thinking of the brother who’s a doctor—that’s the Iranian dream right there), which probably adds to the sense of isolation she feels as she’s now estranged from her mother.

After running into Leila’s ex at the grocery store, she explains that her relationship fell apart because of what she blames as her mother.

When she brought her girlfriend home for Thanksgiving, her mother Shireen kicked them out because she’s gay. There’s even more tension later when Leila, a writer, makes a film that premieres about her family story and her mother accuses her of ruining the family with her work.

Her ex then breaks up with her not long after that, as she thinks Leila is too hung up on her mommy issues and needs to heal her trauma before being with someone.

The movie begins with Leila donning a burqakini and heading to a Halloween party. There, she hooks up with a drag performer, then ends up pregnant with the guy’s baby.

He’s starring in a Broadway show when she barges in, telling him she’s pregnant. At the same time, her father needs a heart transplant and Shireen tells Leila to stay at home with the grandmother instead of being with the family. Her grandmother, Mamanjoon, tells her that Shireen is dealing with a great shame.

The plot then spins on its head and goes into the past, when Shireen, unable to get an education, is married to Leila’s father. He’s almost a decade older than her, but then they go into the Iranian countryside in order for him to get work as a doctor.

This is literally rural Iran, which are villages, and Shireen becomes pregnant with their second child. However, she knows that her husband cheated on her, and despite her parents coming home to chastise him, she decides to let him take their family to America after losing their daughter.

The woman he cheated on was pregnant too, and they take in her child, raising him as one of their own.

Shireen then has to adjust to life in America with all of the kids, and when her husband loses the ability to work due to his heart problems, starts studying to become a real estate agent.

She overcomes many obstacles and does it, then becomes a key advocator for immigrants in the area trying to buy homes. Building an empire, she’s what Leila calls what one wouldn’t expect the typical Muslim woman to be.

Back in the present, Leila tells everyone she’s pregnant, and her brothers joke about how a lesbian got pregnant with a man.

Said man is trying to get together with Leila, but she ices him out most of the time, until she gives him a chance at the end. Shireen is pissed off by this, further fracturing their relationship, but the climax of their conflict is when Leila gives birth and she’s the witness.

Leila names her daughter after the miscarriage Shireen had all those years ago, closing the loop of generational trauma.

Overall Thoughts

I can see how this movie is divisive for some, but I found the unconventional style found throughout to be more into the messaging about reclaiming the story.

This is a movie about Iranian women, and one of the most prolific moments for me is when young Shireen addresses the audience about how she was going to write her own story.

The fourth wall addresses feed into this for me, as it’s them having the chance to directly tell us who they are—something Iranian women often aren’t afforded.

My sister and I both really liked this movie as it was so relatable to us as Iranian American women who grew up like this, and we knew how many daughters have gone through what both of these women have experienced. Support movies like this, trust me. We need it.

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