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ACTOR
Mariam ParrisDavid AckertShaun ToubShohreh Aghdashloo
DIRECTOR
Ramin Serry
SYNOPSICS
Maryam (2002) is a English movie. Ramin Serry has directed this movie. Mariam Parris,David Ackert,Shaun Toub,Shohreh Aghdashloo are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2002. Maryam (2002) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
An Iranian-born teenager living in suburban New Jersey thinks of herself as simply an American until anti-Iranian sentiment erupts in her community after American hostages are held in Iran.
Maryam (2002) Trailers
Maryam (2002) Reviews
well worth seeing
To begin with, this is not a documentary about SAVAK or the Shah's regime, and, after September 11th, you don't have to be an expert on Iran to get what is going on in the movie. It is about a lot of things: growing up different, being an American child of immigrants (we get that here in Miami), friendship and how quickly it disappears, family and the clash of cultures to name just a few. Mariam Parris gives a terrific performance, and the director does a lot with a small budget. However, what you will definitely remember most is the fundamentalist cousin from Iran, his fanaticism and how completely out of place he feels in the US. I happened to see it in Fort Lauderdale after September 11th, and the film hit a nerve with everyone who saw it, including the director, who was seeing it in a new light for the first time since 9/11. Ebert was right...take the time to see it.
See it and think about American culture
Several of the negative comments about this film were so blind. This movie is about American culture and makes you think about big questions that nag us -- why do Americans respond to a crisis by hating others? I was alive and conscious during the events of 1979, I have known Iranians as college acquaintances and friends, and the use of footage in the movie is very effective at evoking memories of that time. Thinking about the racism against Iranians during that time and then thinking about how too many Americans reacted to the events of September 11, the march to a stupid war in Iraq, etc., etc., makes it clear once again that we Americans need to do some deep soul searching. Watch this movie and think about it -- don't try to act like some film critic or reviewer. Interestingly, on the surface this movie is about Iranians, but in fact I found that it was about American culture.
good blend of sweet and complex...
I also think this movie was fantastic. It was a good blend between a sweet coming-of-age story and an intriguing political/historical drama. Well thought out depiction of the complexities of the time; each character isn't perfect and makes you think. One may find it didn't go far enough in its message, but at least it poses a great many questions which are as applicable today as they were in '79. Save room for after-the-movie discussions...
best film about race in america in a long time
This film was simply fantastic and my favorite from Roger Ebert's 3rd Annual Overlooked Film Fest. The girl who plays Maryam gives an incredible performance and i can't say enough good things about the script. It was an excellent tale about what it was like to be a regular American teen who happened to be of Iranian descent during the hostage crisis in '79. This film manages to be poignant and thought-provoking about race relations in America without beating the audience over the head with the "SpikeLee Stick". good and good for you.
A provocative disappointment
Very disappointing - this could've been great. The story itself had enormous potential - but at every point where subtlety is called for, the director instead opted to go over the top. The key characters are carefully introduced early on, and - where the audience should have been allowed to gradually get to know them, and learn about them in a somewhat life-like fashion - we are instead told (usually visually, through very slightly exaggerated gestures and mannerisms), in a very didactic fashion, their strengths and flaws immediately. This isn't bad acting - it's talented actors being directed poorly, and I thought it did a disservice to a great story. **SPOILERS AHEAD** One major gripe: the cultural misunderstanding between Maryam and Ali - established early on - was a bit unreal to me: though Maryam's family was thoroughly Americanized, it would've been discussed before Ali's arrival that he would have to make huge adjustments to a new home, and that some semblance of respect and patience would be necessitated. I can't imagine a family going so blindly into such a situation, and expecting things to smoothly work themselves out. To me, the real heart of the story was the bigotry the family experienced in the wake of the Embassy hostage-taking. The directors' inclusion of news footage was a good move, though a bit overused, in introducing this element. The handling of Ali is yet another issue - a provocative character, a great departure point for an honest exploration of how American culture is viewed by the rest of the world, and what it does to an immigrant's sense of identity. The contrast between scenes of Ali praying, and the Armin family's secularism should've been the departure point for an examination of the value of hanging onto minority traditions, or the occasional pragmatic necessity of modifying or abandoning them. Instead, he seemed like a cartoon character - nothing but exaggerated accents, shrugs, and stares. The Ali-centric plot contrivances during the last 3rd of the film really took this dangerously close to movie-of-the week territory. Ultimately I feel so critical of this film because I think this story is very intensely relevant today, and the seeds of a masterpiece of both cinema and human observation are to be found here. But I also feel that there is so much here that should've been explored in greater detail, and the subject matter deserves something great.