Women without Men

This first feature by Shirin Neshat (in collaboration with her partner, fellow artist Shoja Azari) is set in the turbulent build-up to the 1953 military coup in Iran, where four women play out their own drama of rebellion and repression. An unashamedly political film, it argues that the British and US-backed overthrow of the democratically elected government and the installing of the autocratic Shah effectively laid the groundwork for the Islamic revolution and its hardline position on women's rights. The struggles of a general's estranged wife, a young prostitute, a sister affronted by her brother's matchmaking, and the latter's religious friend, all unfold in period settings (convincingly re-created in Morocco), though are obviously intended as a comment on today's Iran. Neshat offers striking, memorable images of women etched against vivid skylines and white-bleached buildings, yet the script proves an overly didactic affair that's lacking emotional drive. It's not quite as affecting as it might have been, but its sheer beauty and the passion it conveys grab the attention.