THE COLOR OF LOVE

This fascinating look at contemporary Iranian society dealing with love, sex, and relationships begins with the fact that 70% of Iranians are under 30. The pressures they face?from a strictly followed traditions practiced by their elders to the wildly westernized culture easily accessed through the Internet and illegal satellite TV?are considerable. The weeklong Ashura festival, in which men mourn the death of 7th-century saint Imam Hossein by flogging themselves and weeping in public, illustrates the great disparity. Ironically, the festival gives young people the opportunity to meet and mingle with little parental supervision or interference from the culture police. The film follows several storylines: teenagers who search for love in a suffocating environment; a young woman who rebels against arranged dating rituals; a middle-class married couple who try to please everyone, with mixed results. An eye-opening film that challenges stereotypes of this ancient people.