About Elly is the first time I've dipped into Iranian cinema. It's a 2009 film from Asghar Farhadi, the director of A Separation (2012 Oscar Winner - Best Foreign Language Film). Due to murky legalities and strained political relationships, however, this amazing work couldn't get a U.S. release until now. The story follows a group of old classmates--three couples, children in toe, and a recently-divorced friend--who leave Tehran for a few days of fun on the beaches of the Caspian Sea. In an attempt to play matchmaker, Sepideh (Golshifteh Farahani) brings along her child's teacher, Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti), an attractive but quiet woman she barely knows, to round out the octet. Elly seems uncomfortable from the beginning, the reasons for which are kept ambiguous. When a terrible crisis shakes the group, Elly mysteriously vanishes; kicking off an exhaustive search and plenty of finger pointing that will test them all, especially Sepideh. Some culturally-specific complications arise also, but this is a suspense film above all.Director Farhadi, who also wrote the screenplay and co-authored the story with Azad Jafarian, creates almost Hitchcockian-level intrigue with each new revelation. Check out the trailer below. About Elly is in theaters now.
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