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Unveiled (Unrated)





Release Date: November 18th, 2005 (NYC-Cinema Village) by Wolfe Releasing.
The Cast: Jasmin Tabatabai, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Navid Akhavan, Bernd Tauber, Majid Farahat, Georg Friedrich.
Directed by Angelina Maccarone.
In English, German, and Persian with subtitles.

BASIC PREMISE: After running away from Iran, Fariba (Tabatabai) starts a new life in Germany.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: The reason why Fariba escapes Iran is because she had an affair with a married woman and refused to repent. If she had stayed in Iran, she would have been killed. Once in Germany, she joins other illegal immigrants who ran away from their homeland in search of safety as well. The problem is that she might be deported back to Iran. When her roommate commits suicide, she boldly switches identities with him and makes sure she looks like him in every way possible. The plot becomes slightly more interesting as she tries to hide her secret from the other workers at the cabbage factory. Not surprisingly, Anne (Sarnau), a friendly co-worker, realizes her real identity and the two women secretly fall in love. Unfortunately, there’s not enough dialogue between them to generate make the love seem real rather than contrived. Even the third-act seems rushed not-to-mention predictable. What really holds this film together is Jasmin Tabatabai’s great performance as Fariba. She really sinks into her role and, above all, makes us care about Fariba no matter how contrived the plot is.

SPIRITUAL VALUE: Sexual identity crises have been explored in other films such as Boys Don’t Cry , Normal , and, most recently, in Breakfast on Pluto . Unveiled says nothing new or profound, yet, Tabatabai’s performance makes for quite a number of moving scenes.

INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: Predictable, occasionally contrived plot.

NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 2

THE BOTTOM LINE: A contrived, unsurprising plot saved by a remarkable performance by Jasmin Tabatabai.

RECOMMENDED WAY TO WATCH: Movie Theater (2nd Run)


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