In 1953, the American and British coup d`état removes the democratically elected government and reinstates Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Iranian capital explodes in turmoil, and these events serve as a backdrop as we follow four Iranian women in a society where men set the terms.

Munis is obsessed with listening to radiobroadcasted news about the coup, while her brother keeps her under rigid supervision. Her good friend Faezeh is desperately in love with that same brother. The elegant Farrokhlagha lives in a painful marriage with an Iranian general, but is forced to reconsider everything when she encounters an old lover. Young Zarina, a desperate prostitute with deep emotional scars, escapes from life in captivity at a brothel. While Munis enters a local communist group, the others gather in a dreamlike orchard in the countryside, where they seek comfort and independence in each other.

The political and personal become one as we follow the four women trying to escape the oppressive social structures in the capital. Shirin Neshat’s feature debut is an adaption of the magical realistic novel by Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur from 1989. The psychological, social and political dimensions of the characters are carefully explored and intensified by beautiful and seductive images that remain true to the magical realistic literary tradition. mft