Sometimes smaller independent movies will tackle subjects that the larger studios are either afraid to touch or just refuse to. In "The Stoning Of Soraya M." we get an amazing tale of what happens in some Third World Countries. The execution by stoning is said to happen in many parts of the Middle East, but it is also rumored to happen in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emigrates, Nigeria, Somalia and India. The movie's strongest point is that a single voice can bring about changes, one person had the courage to stand up and say never again. Based on an incredible true story, this movie's tale is of a village's persecution of an innocent woman that becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling story of a town given over to a mob rule.
Zahra Khanum (Shohreh Aghdashloo) is the woman whose voice is heard, thanks to the help of a French based journalist, Freidoune Sahebjam (James Caviezel) who is a war correspondent traveling through Iran when his car overheats. Stranded in the small town, he is approached by Zahra, she tells him that there are evil things happening in the village. Freidoune is taken aback at first, he just wants his car fixed so he can get back on the road, Hashem (Parviz Sayyad) is the town mechanic who will become a huge part of the plot against Soraya. At this point the town's Mayor, Ebrahim (David Diann) and also it's Mullah (Ali Pourtash) come up and tell Freidoune that Zahra is a crazy woman and he should pay no attention to her. Later as Freidoune is eating in a cafe, Zahra throws him a message with directions to her home on it, when he gets there, Zahra tells him that she has a story for him to hear. This begins the remarkable account of what happened to Soraya M. (Mozhan Marnò), a kind woman whose bad marriage leads her cruel, divorce seeking husband Ali (Navid Nagehban) to conspire against her, bringing charges of infidelity, which in the town carries an unimaginable penalty.
The movie moves through a mind field of emotions, lies, betrayal, fraud and deceit. Zahra's quest for justice is the driving force and impact of this movie's gripping story. Zahra risks everything to use the only weapon she has, her passionate voice to share Soraya's story with the world. This shocking story of Soraya takes place in 1986, not in another less civilized time. Ali who wants a divorce so that he can marry his new girl friend, the fourteen year old daughter of a man who is going to be executed, comes up with a plan to rid himself of his wife, Soraya. He claims that Soraya is sleeping with her employer Hashem, Soraya goes to work for him when his wife dies, Soraya's job is to mainly take care of Hashems mentally handicapped child. Ali gets the town Mullah to conspire with him, since Ali runs the town jail, he knows that the Mullah has secrets best left in the dark. The two men confront Hashem and ask him to help them, Hashem tells them he is a simple man and doesn't understand what they want. Later they both go to the shop where Hashem works and threatens his son, this makes Hashem relent and he agrees to say that Soraya has been in his bed. Mayor Ebrahim is a man caught in the middle, he has feeling for Zahra, but he knows that the town now listens to the Mullah, and despite his feelings for Zahra he does whatever he feels he must do to maintain his position.
Zahra is the type of valiant woman hero that is rarely seen on the screen today, while Soraya is a sweet woman whose dignity belie the incomprehensible death sentence she is given. When Hashem tells Mayor Ebrahim that Soraya has indeed been in his bed, he calls an all male tribunal that includes Soraya's father (Vachik Mangassarian) to discuss her charges, Soraya doesn't get the chance to defend herself, and she is unanimously found guilty. Her sentence is death by stoning, to be carried out that day. The movie takes the time to show the emotional complications that Soraya experiences in her final moments, as she is buried up to her waist in the village square, forced to watch as the people she has known and cared for all her life turn against her with a misguided vengeance.
The director Cyrus Nowrasteh decided to show the stoning sequence in as much reality as he could without it becoming sensationalistic. The scene plays out without much dialogue, it is mostly gestures, facial expressions and the trajectory of the stones themselves that build the scene to a fever pitch that allows the audience to be a participant, as well as a witness to the astonishing event as it unfolds. In one scene there's a moment where the camera pans to the Heavens and its almost as if we the viewers are with Soraya as she transcends away from her painful existence. The one thing that makes this movie feel so real is the decision to have the characters speak in Iran's native Farsi, this helps to bring the viewer into this tiny little village, to give it a raw human quality, as well as help us build an authentic and emotional response as we watch the scheme unfold around Soraya.
I give The Stoning Of Soraya M a 4 and on my avoidance scale a huge 0. This is the type of movie that everyone should watch and talk about for a long time. It is a very difficult movie to sit through, the stoning sequence is very graphic in its detailing of the slow painful death. This movie is at times moving and at others it is a suspenseful tale of just how easy it is to become a villain. This is a shockingly beautiful movie that everyone should see.
The Stoning Of Soraya M is rated R for A Disturbing Sequence Of Cruel and Brutal Violence and Brief Strong language
Running time is 1 hr. 56 mins.
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