Dayereh-e Zangi (tambourine) became the all time box office champ in Iran when it was released in 2008. It is basically a social comedy but packed with popular stars of cinema & TV. It could be described as an Altmanesque film with many characters and a series of diverging story lines. There's even a hint of this in the movie when one of the characters, who is a young amateur film maker, asks a pirate DVD seller if he can get him a copy of Altman's Short Cuts. Most of the film takes place in a residential tower where installation of satellite dishes (which are officially banned in Iran) on the rooftop becomes a point of conflict, as well as the cause for a few hilarious situations. Dayereh means circle in Farsi and the script, written by Asghar Farhadi the acclaimed director of Chaharshanbe-soori (and directed by his wife Parisa Bakhtavar), has a symmetrical shape to it as it starts with one of the protagonists having his necktie stolen by a passing motorist who is seen again at the end of the movie giving a ride to another of the main characters. Dayereh-Zangi is quite entertaining & funny at times. It does poke some mild fun at a number of targets including LA based TV channels, local government and even Kiarostami! (an amateur version of Ten being made by a young spiring film maker). Altogether good harmless fun if your expectations are not too high.
Review of Tambourine
