Enemy Territory (Septembers Of Shiraz) (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.