The Lizard

2004 [PERSIAN]

Comedy / Drama

6
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 94% · 1 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 94% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 8.4/10 10 24021 24K

prison escape iran cleric

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Plot summary

The satirical commentary on clergymen in post-revolutionary Iran. While in prison, petty criminal Reza (Parviz Parastui) comes across a clergyman, sparking a plan for escape. Reza dons his new acquaintance's clerical robes and makes a bid for freedom. He soon learns that being a clergyman brings little respect from the public. Reza travels to the outlying villages, from where he plots to escape the country. However, his plans must be put on hold when the villagers accept him into their community and expect him to perform religious duties. Will Reza's prison break transform him into an unlikely pillar of the community?

Director

Kamal Tabrizi Photo
Kamal Tabrizi

Top cast

Ra'na Azadivar Photo
Ra'na Azadivar as Fayezeh
Amin Salahloo Photo
Amin Salahloo as Yaser
Rastin Soleimani Photo
Rastin Soleimani as Amin
Amir Bengard Photo
Amir Bengard as Amir Bengard
480p.DVD
981.11 MB
704*576
Persian 2.0
NR
Subtitles
25 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 37

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ridwane 9 / 10

Excellent movie! Hilarious and powerful.

I had the chance of watching this excellent movie yesterday at the Montreal World Film Festival. This is the second Iranian film that I've seen (the first was 'Taste of Cherry') and I'm enchanted.This is the story of a thief who has an extraordinary agility at climbing walls just like a lizard (Marmoulak), his escape from prison, and his redemption. To hide his identity, he becomes a mullah (Muslim religious scholar) and improvises as best as he can. The dialogs on theology and Muslim daily life are funny, yet very powerful. This excellent movie is not only a slap to the ruling clergy in Iran, but also a slap to religious fundamentalism of any faith. The acting is very good. The 'Mullah' role is performed beautifully and the Lizard gives the Mullah the right dose of authority and charisma while remaining a very down-to-earth person. I enjoyed every minute. This is a movie that I'll be delighted to watch again.Highly recommended. 9/10
Reviewed by ifasmilecanhelp 9 / 10

excellent movie... worth to see !

Not Iranian, nor Muslim, nor religious, all that makes I'm supposed to have a free open mind to see it, without prejudice, in any way or about... :)What brought me to see Marmoulak ? I don't know : the ways of God are impenetrable !Kidding, of course, with not offense to anyone...Until now this is my first and only Persian movie I saw...and I enjoyed it a lot : good story, good acting, excellent music...It's a bitter-sweet comedy, about Reza the lizard, his short adventures in jail, and then a (may I call it like that ?) kind of involuntary redemption...Don't expect, if you're like me a western European citizen, to laugh very loudly, but to have a certain smile all along the movie...I mean, following Persian(?) commentaries it seems that depending on your national and cultural background, you will laugh more or less, very loudly....I didn't... but nevertheless think it is an excellent movie.It doesn't deal with all the stupid clichés one might have about religion, (any of them) but present an profound human aspectof anyone trapped in something which was not chosen...Touching and interesting, I'm glad it entered my library ! Opposing to some comments, I think this good movie is Not only for Iranians...but if you are an average middle abc/nbc/cnn/fr1/ab1 television type freak, may be you better turn on your TV daily program...who knows, be careful, it could open your mind !***A film is never really good unless the camera is an eyes in the head of a poet Orson Welles***
Reviewed by Levacher 9 / 10

Nice and totally different

It's rare to see a film that as much as it amuses, it also takes an angle on serious matters. These last fifteen years have seen a series of films flourishing out of the path of some very talented Persian directors, expressing their views on life, on people, on the political issues and so on, through an anthology of subjects that come to show with finesse things that couldn't be said otherwise. "Marmoolak" is one of those. Only here, the destiny of men and women of an entire country subject to the whims of its rulers symbolized here by one man (the fake cleric played with gusto and talent by Parviz Parastui) is shown not by the means of drama, but throughout comedy. And comedy is something that Persians seem to know about. To say that this film is funny is a euphemism. There is situation comedy here, and it is treated with much lightness. But if one goes farther and looks through it, one can easily capture the fate of an entire people. Works like this, in the form of a film or a book, etc, usually help change things. Let's hope this one does. Talent as they say, has no boundary.
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