What happens when entertainment meets judgement over life or death? This movie holds its grip on the viewer until the very last minute. We suffer with the protagonist and try to read her antagonist's face who is played brilliantly. Excellently written suspense, with a critical eye on the absurdness and at the same time blessing of a TV show at time threatening to get out of hand.

Saw this at the Berlinale 2020 film festival. Most important thing to note is that you'll learn many new principles of Sharia law, like forgiveness and blood money (for me, it was the second time, seeing these appear earlier in Timbuktu (2014, by Abderrahmane Sissako),where these concepts came about too). Apart from that, the concept of a temporary marriage is alien to us too (Wikipedia offers loads of reading material on the concept, as not all muslins agree on it). In the final Q&A some was explained by the director, as far as possible in a handful minutes. But he also added that these principles dating back from many centuries ago, are not always literally enforced. In several movies I saw earlier about Iran, it became clear that the nation is "in transition", wanting to be modern in many respects but also retaining traditions wherever possible.

I don't think that a standard "forgiveness" TV-program in Iran runs like this example (I'm assuming here). Out of the ordinary this time is that Mona does not tell the truth about several things, and this comes successively to light in small portions. We, as viewers, are helpless here and can only follow what is going on, handicapped by the fact that barely know anything of the judicial principles involved. Besides, there are several unexpected turns of events, like that Mona is in debt and the blood money is very welcome, something that may bias her decision. Also, Mona states that her father was still alive for 20 minutes after what Maryam insists was an accident, so that Maryam could have sought help instead of running away (in panic as Maryam says). Also, Maryam's pregnancy was in direct violation of the terms laid down in the "temporary marriage" contract. Mona denied that Maryam told her in time that she was pregnant, contrary to Maryam's statement they went to the gynecologist together. Clearly one of them did not tell the truth, or at least not all of it.

I cannot tell more about unforeseen developments, to prevent spoilers. We see a variety of elements that are common to the Thriller genre. Firstly, everyone around in the studio tries to influence the proceedings. Secondly, we see people from outside bringing in surprising material and some new facts. Still, what sets it apart from a normal Thriller is that the main topic is not the actions by murderer (Maryam) and victim (her husband),but rather the setting this story takes it course in. The TV show adds a unique perspective, with heavily biased Mona apparently in a position to set Maryam free from the death penalty, and where home viewers can cast votes too, on which basis the sponsors pay part or all of the blood money.

All in all, a wonderful film about Iran, a country we don't fully understand, very modern in many respects while at the same time upholding laws dating back many centuries ago. This mixture is exactly what we see here.