The Stoning of Soraya M. (Cyrus Nowrasteh, 2008): USA

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy.  Viewed on DVD.

Driving through a small village in Iran in 1986, a French-Iranian journalist, is told of The Stoning of Soraya M. – an event that occurred the day prior.

Freidoune Sahebjam (James Caviezel) has car problems and is forced to stop for several hours in a remote village.  After convincing a local mechanic to work on his car, he stops for a refreshment at a nearby cafe.

A strange woman named Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo) pursues Freidoune, and despite the two local dignitaries that try to convince him that Zahra is crazy, she manages to pass a note with her address on to him.

Curious, Sahebjam follows his hunch and ends up at Zahra’s door, where she describes the circumstances of her niece Soraya (Mozhan Marno).

Soraya, an attractive mother of four, is married to Ali (Navid Negahban), a verbally and physically abusive womanizer.  Ali wants to divorce Soraya, abandon his two young daughters, take custody of his two sons, and marry a 14 year old girl and acquire her dowry.  If Soraya agrees to her husband’s terms, she may keep their modest home and her two little girls, but will not be given any financial support.

Soraya, knowing she cannot support herself, refuses the offer and Ali begins to think of another plan.  Soraya secures a position with the widower Hashem (Parviz Sayyad), to cook and clean for him and his son.  A chain of gossip about Soraya and the widower mysteriously erupts throughout the village, and Ali abruptly brings charges of infidelity against her.

When denying the charges, Soraya is informed that a husband may bring any charges against his wife, and it is her duty to prove her innocence – but, if a wife brings charges against her husband, it is still her duty to prove his guilt!

Needless to say, the stoning is brutal and horrific.  Not only do all of the townspeople show up to throw stones, but also Soraya’s father, sons, and her employer Hashem!  Buried up to her waist, with her hands tied behind her back, Soraya endures one stone after another hurled at her face, but she refuses to cry out in anguish.

A highly compelling film, with characters portrayed succinctly by both Aghdashloo and Marno.  In the lesser role, Caviezel portrays a subtle yet effective Sahebjam, the real life journalist and author of the bestselling book which exposed the present day stoning in Iran.