OurMovieNights
Shirin (2008) poster

2008 · drama · iranian

Shirin

Directed by Abbas Kiarostami1h 32m2008

A hundred and fourteen famous Iranian theater and cinema actresses and a French star: mute spectators at a theatrical representation of Khosrow and Shirin, a Persian poem from the twelfth century, put on stage by Kiarostami. The development of the text -- long a favorite in Persia and the Middle East -- remains invisible to the viewer of the film, the whole story is told by the faces of the women watching the show.

Our read: Shirin (2008) reads as a sombre, slow-burn, surreal drama · iranian entry — gentle in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Sombre, slow-burn, gentle drama / iranian, surreal in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, measured.

ElsewhereIMDb6.73kRT80%TMDB6.237
  • sombre
  • slow-burn
  • surreal
  • signature
Video previewNo trailer available for this one.
Game · before you press play

Watching Shirin tonight? Spin for your lens.

Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.

Your lens for tonight

?

Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.

Where to watch
All options on JustWatch

Availability in the US · via JustWatch

More info & search links
Where the cast leads
DNA · twelve axes

How Shirin feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want a radical experiment watching women's faces react to an unseen tragic poem.”

ends bittersweetit stays with youmeditativegrips from the openattention 5/5earns its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around

Skip it tonight — Skip tonight if you need visible plot, action, or conventional storytelling.

Nearest by DNA

Eight films that feel like this one.

Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Shirin, with why →

Your take
Rate it
star-clip-1-0star-clip-2-0star-clip-3-0star-clip-4-0star-clip-5-0
React
Discussion

Discussion

cmd enter to post

Make it a movie night.

Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.

Pick tonight's film →
Watching with your partner?Play this film’s board