Boutique

A prescient view of Iranian culture at the turn of the 21st century, BOUTIQUE is a sad, salutary tale about life in Tehran. The film starts brightly, as young Johan meets an attractive young girl in his capacity as a window dresser at a chic, popular boutique. As they talk, it transpires that she can't afford any of the high-end designer goods that the shop is touting, so Johan steals a pair of fancy jeans for her. But this event proves to be the catalyst for Johan's fall from grace; his life suddenly takes an irrevocable turn for the worse, and a series of related events leave him floundering in a sea of problems of his own making. A moving, thoughtful film, BOUTIQUE casts a critical eye over Iranian society and makes some startling observations.