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Tag Archives: murder mystery

‘AN EYE FOR THE EYE’ (Tribeca 2025) A brutal blame game seeped in patriarchal injustice.

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply


Tribeca 2025 rainbow logo

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari‘s Tribeca 2025 documentary, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, tells the story of Tahereh, an Iranian woman who murdered her husband following 18 years of abuse. One shocking night leads to Hossein’s strangulation and secret burial inside their home. After 14 years in prison and two years out on bail, now Hossein’s family, specifically his brother Bashir, gets to decide Tahereh’s fate – accept a blood money payment or order her execution.

While hearing details from Tahereh, we witness the ongoing negotiation process. Ms. Jabarzegegan, an anti-execution activist, convinces Bashir to lower his settlement demand from 1.5 billion tomans ($36,000) to 800 thousand tomans. But two weeks after the verbal agreement, Bashir dies of a heart attack. His arrangement was never notarized. Now, it falls onto the shoulders of his son, a young man much more influenced by his new grief and the words of his elders. Tahereh and her children are running out of time.

Behind the two families battling for their desired outcome is the initial police investigation and the suggestion that Tahereh hired a hitman. But, not just any hitman, a man the police want to suggest was her lover. This question hangs in the air like a dark cloud, but Tahereh proclaims she would rather be known as a murderer than a whore. That is somehow worse in her community.

AN EYE FOR AN EYEEshaghian and Jafari use the investigative narrative as a thread throughout the film. The film opens with the discovery of the body and the subsequent search for who and how. Crime photos are relatively tame if you are an avid Discovery ID watcher.

The blame game between the families is difficult to watch. The cherrypicking of religious teachings is incredibly infuriating. Watching Tahereh’s youngest son openly show emotion over his childhood terror will wreck you. He has to hear potential donors, the police, the courts, and his religious leaders tell him again and again that 18 years of domestic abuse is not an excuse for murder.

The gender disparity looms large. The patriarchal structure defies humanity. This is not just an Islamic issue. All over the world, women are killed by abusers after authorities do nothing to protect them when they reach out for help. Statistics do not lie. Tahereh says something that sums up their entire journey. “I killed him once, he killed us a thousand times.”

Directed by Tanaz Eshagian and Farzad Jafari

Producers: Christoph Jörg, Katayoun Arsanjani, Joey Marra, Gelareh Kiazand

Co-Producers: Kasper Lykke Schultz, Andreas Dalsgaard

Executive Producers: William Horberg, Zhang Xin, David Cowan, David & Nina Fialkow, Tanaz Eshaghian

With the support of the Danish Film Institute
Editors: Soren B. Ebbe, Hayedeh Safiyari


“An Eye For An Eye” follows Tahereh, a mother of three in Tehran who, after being repeatedly denied a divorce, decided that her only way out of an abusive marriage was to murder her husband.

Under Sharia Law, when a murder is committed in Iran, the family of the victim gets to decide whether to execute the murderer – an eye for an eye – or to grant them total forgiveness in exchange for a “blood money” settlement. The story unfolds after Tahereh has been released from serving her prison sentence and negotiations begin with her in-laws to decide her fate.


“An Eye For An Eye” is a complicated murder mystery, that quickly pivots into a ticking clock thriller as Tahereh and her son race around Tehran to scrape together the money in time to save her life. It culminates in a high-stakes courtroom drama as judgment day arrives, and both sides of the family stand before a judge to complete their negotiation – when they leave the room, she will either be free for the first time in her life or be sentenced to death.

In Farsi with English Subtitles

84 minutes. AN EYE FOR AN EYE AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Tribeca 2025 iconFor more Tribeca coverage, click here!

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Posted in Danish, Documentary, Documentary, Events, Features, Film Festival, Foreign Films, Genre, Go To The Movies, Iran, Liz, New York City, News, Politics, Religion, Reviews, Trailer, Tribeca Film Festival, What To Watch This Week, Woman Lead, Women, Women in Film, World Premiere | Tagged an eye for an eye, Farsi, murder mystery, Sharia Law, Tanaz Eshagian and Farzad Jafari, Tribeca 2025, womens rights | Leave a reply

Sundance (2022) capsule reviews: ‘The Dark Heart’ series & feature ‘Leonor Will Never Die’

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

THE DARK HEART

Sweden: in a mythological landscape, search parties roam through forests of spruce, secret conversations are whispered in open fields, and verbal duels fought on narrow country roads. A story of family feuds, inheritances, and forbidden love.


Sweden’s true crime game is above and beyond. The US had already remade series like The Killing and The Bridge. Sundance 2022 audiences can dive headfirst into The Dark Heart. The series is a five-part psychological drama-thriller about how an old family feud clashes with a young, forbidden love story, leading to a tragedy with a deadly outcome, ultimately solved by a private investigator who gets obsessed with the case. The series is based on journalist Joakim Palmkvist’s book “The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator”, which delves into the story about how a mysterious missing person’s case is investigated and solved by a local Missing People-volunteer involved in the searches. Think Broadchurch and Mare of East Town vibes. Small town politics and mystery with enough breadcrumbs and insinuation to keep you guessing. You will not be able to look away.

Cast: Aliette Opheim, Clara Christiansson Drake, Gustav Lindh, Peter Andersson.

World Premiere. Fiction. 


LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE

Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a television lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay.


As a writer, this script is essentially a dream, pun intended. Leading lady, Sheila Francisco is an absolute joy to watch and her energetic narration/script reading is a blast. In her coma, she is living inside her story. The recreations of 80s action films are astounding from the perfectly hokey score to the fight sequences. The visual jumps from these, to real-life, to memories, keeps you on your toes. The semiautobiographical nature of Leonor’s writing makes for a haunting present circumstance. The nonchalance in which her son and ex-husband converse with their lost loved one is bizarre. But that’s only half of the wackiness that ensues. Leonor is weird meta fun. You cannot help but adore the heart behind it.

Cast: Sheila Francisco, Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Anthony Falcon.

World Premiere.


For more information and the complete lineup for Sundance 2022 film, click here!


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Posted in Comedy, Drama, Events, Female Filmmaker, Film Festival, Foreign Films, Genre, Liz, Philippines, Reviews, series, Streaming, Sundance Film Festival, Swedish, Thriller, Virtual Cinemas, What To Watch This Week, Woman Lead, Women in Film | Tagged Aliette Opheim, Anthony Falcon, Bong Cabrera, Clara Christiansson Drake, Gustav Lindh, Gustav Möller, Leonor Will Never Die, Martika Ramirez Escobar, meta, murder mystery, Peter Andersson, Rocky Salumbides, series, Sheila Francisco, The dark heart, World Premiere | Leave a reply

NYFF54 Review: ‘PERSONAL SHOPPER’ shows Kristen Stewart is scary good.

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Liz Whittemore — Leave a reply

nyff54-bannerPERSONAL SHOPPERpersonal-shopper-poster

 

  • Olivier Assayas
  • 2016
  • France
  • French and English with English subtitles
  • 105 minutes

Kristen Stewart is the medium, in more ways than one, for this sophisticated genre exploration from director Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria, NYFF 2014). As a fashion assistant whose twin brother has died, leaving her bereft and longing for messages from the other side, Stewart is fragile and enigmatic—and nearly always on-screen. From an opening sequence in a haunted house with an intricately constructed soundtrack to a high-tension, cat-and-mouse game on a trip from Paris to London and back set entirely to text messaging,Personal Shopper brings the psychological and supernatural thriller into the digital age.  An IFC Films release.

kristen-stewart-personal-shopper-stillAfter seeing Stewart and Assayas team up on the NYFF52 film Clouds of Sils Maria, there was doubt that we were in for a unique treat in Personal Shopper. Some might still be skeptical of Stewart’s work if they’ve only been exposed to The Twilight franchise. She admits that it most definitely gave her the option to choose her work. Her indie film roles are nothing short of impressive. Clouds allowed her to be the first American actress to win France’s most prominent Cesar award. Stewart plays Maureen, dealing or not dealing with the death of her twin brother, she floats through life by attending to a spoiled supermodel’s fashion needs all while suspecting her brother is trying to contact her from the beyond. Caught between her own sanity and a murder mystery, Stewart bares all in an emotionally wrought and frightening tale that makes us ponder our own beliefs and life choices. With some of the world’s most beautiful fashion as eye candy, Paris and London as our backgrounds, and the trust Assayas has with his leading lady, I was constantly on edge and intrigued. The pace is great and the use of texting as a major plot point brings technology to the forefront in more than one way. Assasya’ long lingering shots, he admitted in the press conference following the screening, were half by choice and half due to the performance Stewart was giving at any moment in time. Their relationship is very clear as you watch. She is in almost every frame. that is a lot to carry as a young actress, but she 100% owns this film. I was able to ask both Assayas and Stewart if they believed in the paranormal and their answers were perfection. you can watch the footage below. If eerie movies are your thing, then this is most likely one you’re enjoy. If you want to see a gorgeously shot film with a stellar leading lady, this too fits the bill. If you’re open minded about things that are considered other worldly, if nothing else, Personal Shopper begs the question, “Is death the end?”

Press Conference with Olivier Assayas and Kristen Stewart. (I got the final question. Lucky Me.)

Personal Shopper will be in theaters March of 2017 from IFC Films.

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Posted in Events, French, Interviews, New York City, Press Conference, Release, Reviews, Trailer, Woman Lead, Women in Film | Tagged Cannes Film Festival, Cesar award, Clouds of Sils Maria, digital age, FilmFestival, ghost story, ifc films, kristen stewart, Liz, london, murder mystery, New York Film Festival, new york film festival, nyff, nyff 2016 liz, nyff liz, nyff2016, NYFF52, nyff54, Olivier Assayas, Paris, Personal Shopper, poster, Review, stills, supernatural, thrlle, twilight | Leave a reply

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