Screen International
13-May-2011
Author: Lee Marshall
“GOODBYE (Be Omid e Didar) is a sombre and courageous portrait of the open prison that present-day Iran has become. Shot with a careful eye for colour, light and framing, this story of a politically suspect female lawyer doggedly trying to secure the visa that will allow her to leave Iran creates beauty out of desperation…Visually, and in its rich sound design, the film betrays none of the presumably difficult conditions of the shoot: it’s a fully-formed contemporary screen tragedy.”
The Hollywood Reporter
13-May-2011
Author: Deborah Young
“This dark tale focuses on a young woman lawyer and openly attacks the blind repression of Iranian civil society… It is a powerful statement against the political regime in art film format…It is rare to see an Iranian film that so directly attacks the lack of personal freedom, going far beyond the usual hair and make-up issues that so strike Westerners. Camerawork, filled with disquieting oblique shadows, is elegant and atmospheric throughout.”
IndieWire
13-May-2011
Author: Eric Kohn
“A suspenseful and moving portrait of modern censorship in the country… Rasoulof renders the daily suspense of living in a society plagued by repression with remarkable intimacy…It's no wonder that Iranian forces consider him a threat, but its citizens should view this movie's miraculous last-minute arrival at Cannes as a kind of dark blessing."
The Wall Street Journal
19-May-2011
Author: Anthony Kaufman
''Rasoulof’s film “Goodbye,” which depicts a young female lawyer who i seeking a visa to leave the country, premiered at the festival over the weekend. A quietly harrowing work, the film shows the young protagonist subject to ominous interrogations and a pervasive sense of oppression. If the film may portray life in Iran like a prison, Rasoulof says that this is not the case for him. “I love Iran and I would never leave Iran,” he said.''
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