Enemy Territory (Septembers Of Shiraz)

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

31%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 13

43%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 244
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Movie Info

Based on true events, Septembers of Shiraz follows a prosperous Jewish family whose lives are turned upside down in the wake of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. When Isaac is suddenly arrested and taken to a secret prison, his wife is left to make sense of what has happened and must somehow secure Isaac's release and her family's safety.
  • Rating:
    PG-13 (for thematic content involving interrogation, brutality and disturbing images, and for some partial nudity and brief strong language)
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    Wayne Blair
  • Written By:
    Hanna Weg
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Millennium Films

Cast

Adrien Brody
as Isaac
Salma Hayek
as Farnez
Shohreh Aghdashloo
as Habibeh
Alon Aboutboul
as Mohsen
Gabriella Wright
as Farideh
Anthony Azizi
as Mehdi
Bashar Rahal
as Komiteh Member
Armin Amiri
as Keyvan
Nasser Memarzia
as Mansoor
Christina Mani
as Shima
Alain Washnevsky
as Behrouz Godsi
Asli Bayram
as Shahla
Ariana Molkara
as Shirin
Maggie Parto
as Voice Over
Maggie Parto
as Voice Over
Jamie Ward
as Parviz Amin
Ben Youcef
as Muezzin
Vesilav Pavlov
as Hossein
Boyko Krastanov
as Young Man
Navid Navid
as Morteza
Dimitar Ilkov
as Man at the Wedding
Vlado Mihailov
as Vartan Sofoyan
Georgi Zlatarev
as Farhad
Liron Levo
as Navid Amin
Kether Donohue
as Mustafa
Wadih Dona
as Rostan
Leart Dokle
as Guard at Gate
Niki Stanchev
as Refugee
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Critic Reviews for Enemy Territory (Septembers Of Shiraz)

All Critics (13) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (9)

  • A wildly inauthentic American melodrama about the 1979 Iranian revolution.

    Jul 7, 2016 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…

    Jake Wilson

    The Age (Australia)
    Top Critic

  • Another vacuous melodrama/thriller that doesn't lay a glove on the era's historical complexities.

    Jun 24, 2016 | Rating: 0.5/4 | Full Review…

    Godfrey Cheshire

    RogerEbert.com
    Top Critic

  • Long on cardboard characterizations and short on genuine tension.

    Jun 23, 2016 | Full Review…

    Robert Abele

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • It's a movie whose good heart is outweighed by its heavy hand.

    Jun 23, 2016 | Full Review…

    Ken Jaworowski

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • Heavy with earnest good intentions but too underpowered and oddly packaged to deliver the emotional gut punch its subject demands, Septembers of Shiraz is a disappointing misfire.

    Jun 20, 2016 | Full Review…

    Leslie Felperin

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

  • This autobiographically inspired tale of a wealthy Jewish family in Tehran suffering under Iran's shift to fundamentalist Islam, which played in print as hard-hitting but nuanced, now feels like a simplistic, somewhat pandering melodrama.

    Jun 20, 2016 | Full Review…

    Dennis Harvey

    Variety
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (13)

Audience Reviews for Enemy Territory (Septembers Of Shiraz)

  • Oct 21, 2016
    I don't like to hate, and it isn't often that I do. But I do believe I feel hatred towards the Ayatollah Khomeini and his regime, and all he did in the name of religion. A rather timid yet bright and successful business man, Isaac, lives in a mansion with his pampered wife, Farnez, along with his 18-year-old son, 12-year old daughter, and a few servants who Isaac had rescued from absolute poverty. The time is 1979, just prior to the Iranian revolution when all religions were allowed to be expressed. The movie opens with the father proudly sending his son off to college in America. Soon after, Isaac is arrested by Revolutionary Guards. He is blindfolded and led, by motorcycle to some abandoned warehouse, where he is kept in a filthy concrete cell, questioned daily, beaten at times, and once even placed before a firing squad who shot bullets all around him where Issac was so terrified, he defecated in his pants. His wife asks about him but is told nothing. The family's not-so-loyal servants loot Isaac's business and their home, claiming the inequities that exist between the rich and poor give them every right to do so, in God's eyes. What is touching is Isaac's demeanor while interrogated and tortured, how he stays calm, seems sincere, is forced to call his captors "Brother", and does what it takes to survive. Another fine point in the film was Farnez's longtime servant, Habibeh, and the conflict going on inside her. While almost (but not quite) friends with Fanez, Habibeh reveals that she was never invited to their dinner table, and her chances of living the good life were never available, due to the vast gap between the rich and the poor under the Shah's rule. It makes you think. Still, what happened with Isaac's family was not deserved and was an abomination.
    Amy A Super Reviewer
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