The Persian Version
The Persian Version
When a large Iranian-American family gathers, a family secret is uncovered that catapults the estranged mother and daughter into an exploration of the past, and to discover they are more alike than they know.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
There is a significant amount of heart in this story, but unfortunately I don’t think director Maryam Keshavarz had enough heart to leave any of it on the editing room floor. Clearly it’s a very personal story of an Iranian-American film student (graduate maybe), Leila, that is always at odds with her mother. When Leila becomes pregnant she talks with her grandmother about their family history—how her parents immigrated to the United States and why. It’s here where she perhaps discovers that she and her mother aren’t so different after all. I recount all of that, because that’s what the focus of the movie should be about. However, there is so much more here that spans decades…Leila smuggling American cassette tapes to Iran as a very young girl, the scandal that sparks the move to the US, Leila’s mother becoming a real estate mogul, Leila’s marriage to her first wife (and divorce), Leila’s brother’s wedding, her seven other brothers, her father’s heart transplant, and Leila now being impregnated by a male friend. The narrative all kind of time jumps between decades filling in the details of Leila’s family history. Some of it is fun and certainly funny, but never felt like almost any of it was necessary. I did find the mother-daughter conflict aspect of the story moving, particularly the final resolution, really everything else felt just like it was there for window dressing, including the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun dance numbers. Even the scandal that Leila discover’s about her parents, doesn’t even really feel like it would lead to a revelation that she and her mother are more alike than not.
Somewhat disappointed by this. The Persian Version seems like it shows a lot of promise but was narratively messy and unfocused.