American audiences have become used to the "reality TV" spawned by the likes of shows like MTV Real World, MTV Road Rules, and a host of other copycats... ..but when you mix that cutting-edge reality TV style with the fervor of iranian politics & the pains of discrimination and economic hardship in modern-day iran, you get Rakhshan Etemad's explosive documentary "Our Times":
MTV-Real-World "confessionals" with hijab-wearing teenage girls telling us why they want to run for president...
traveling cameras recording live political arguments in the middle of the street...
12fps video played at 24fps to create the "sped-up" effect seen the Matrix and Equilibrium... ..and more!
go see it!
in the end, the real tragedy portrayed by this movie is that while iran's youth have plenty of political idealism and a desire to make things better for themselves, they unfortunately run up against the "brick wall" of culture, society, and politics, which serve to chip away at that idealism and in many cases blow it away completely.
congratulations to Rakhshan Etemad on a spectacular effort!