Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Dreadfully Boring

A Disappointing Continuation

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Saw this a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me. The pedigree of Kiriostami and Panahiri is excellent but Hossain Emadeddin as a non-actor in the primary role is what won me over.Starting with a brutal bad situation going worse, to me is there to underscore the sealed fate for a working class stiff in Tehran, and really many cities.His primary contrast is not so much the jeweler but the rich bachelor who invited Hussein into his wonderland world during a pizza delivery. And there is something about the pizza delivery job that allows Hussein, and us the viewers aspects of moving through cultures, class and checkpoints.Another powerful scene comes with Hussein trapped behind a police sting, and thus failing at his primary job...but out of good nature reaching out to the Comiteh. Very powerful in a subtle way...And again the non-actor Hossain, carrying the weight of the world possibly folded into his own girth, and perhaps a nod to Iran/Iraq war (his blinking awkward health might have been good casting, or just a tough life bleeding through on the film).It's not a happy film, or even a dynamic film in terms of a window on another culture, or a revolutionary change in an individual. But again the struggle for Hussein to find some small dignity, some small purpose and some love in a large crushing world had me rooting so strongly for him, despite the pre-ordained and projected fate.Again the fact that I feel compelled to review this after a couple of years to me is a hearty endorsement for this film, but I understand others here less thrilled with this film.

Written by the most prominent figure in Iranian social realist cinema, Talaye Sorkh is very much suggestive of some social realities in contemporary Iran. Following an underclass pizza-delivery man for a day or two of his life, Panahi's camera pictures a story that speaks only not for Hussein, but also for many of his real-life fellow citizens in Tehran. Although the film appears to be highly critical of the current social gap between the rich and the poor, Talaye Sorkh is more about alienation and marginalization. Hussein is a war veteran who is devastated by the contradictions of the values he fought for in the Iran-Iraq war and what he witnesses in the affluent neighborhoods of northern Tehran, where he delivers pizzas. He is shocked to see a former lieutenant in one of those chic houses. Thanks to Hussein Emaduddin's great performance, the film by no means begs for sympathy. It seems that the tensions of the society in which Hussein lives, has made him an emotionless man. Hussein's toneless attitude and his unusual calmness speaks of a man whose tolerance comes to a rapid explosion at the end. He is a sort of man who is unable to even feel for his fiancé. Robbing young women's purse doesn't seem to interest him either. Throughout the entire film he is in a state of shock. Although the film's plot is based on a true story, its dialog seem a bit incompetent and weak at times. The dolly shots and the overall camera-work however perfectly contributes in suggesting a schizophrenic atmosphere which has indeed been the intention of Panahi as well. Panahi's latest film is very much similar in theme with his previous award winning Dayareh. That film is also recommended for those who enjoyed this one.

i just saw this movie yesterday and the question was on my mind all the time, why the camera follow this pizza driver all the time? OK if the director needs to show us something important i agree he must guide us to "see", but in this case i felt bored and cheated because following this guy i didn't see anything. i didn't get the character, i don't know anything about his life, nothing at all, sorry but i don't understand it.anyway it is good to see like curiosity as i have seen in other movie (the mirror) that the capital is a chaos of a city in terms of circulation and how oppressed they are for the religion...

from the director of "The circle" and "The White balloon" comes another revolutionary film from the Iranian cinema, there are aspects in this film that only an Iranian would understand, or someone who is familiar with the situation in Iran, and how it crosses the red line many times. The film shows the huge gap in the society in Iran between the rich and the poor, too bad that this film attracts the wrong audience, some watch this film and expect the film to continue like what it was in the first few minutes. Another factor that makes this movie so great in the Iranian cinema is the techniques used in it, there were camera works that had never been done in the Iranian cinema, refer to the scene in which Hossein was lying in his bed to see this. overall i think this was a great movie and it gets a 10 out of 10 from my unbiased point of view.