The Patience Stone

"Afghan author Atiq Rahimi directs this tale, based on his own novel, of a woman in an unnamed city, during an unspecified conflict, nursing her paralysed older husband. It’s film as fable, a poetic cinematic allegory of the position of Middle Eastern Muslim women. Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani carries the majority of the movie in a committed performance, exemplifying female passion repressed by patriarchal power. As she pours her heart out to her immobile patient she reveals her life story and gains in confidence. Her inert husband becomes like the fabled patience stone: “Tell it everything. The stone listens and one day bursts. And on that day – you are freed.”"

"Sensual and horrifying, The Patience Stone plays like a mesmerizing, modern take on the tales of Scheherazade and a parable on the suffering of Afghan women."

"Better to think of this as a star vehicle for Farahani, who almost single-handedly carries the film; the range the Iranian actor displays here proves that she’s destined for bigger things. Fans will just have to be patient."

"While there may be truths in some universals, it’s hard to forget that this tale has its roots in a bitterly real world."

"Farahani's magnetic presence goes a long way toward putting a human face on the film, more successfully than the material around her."

"It's the flesh-and-blood lead performance by Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani as a profoundly conflicted Muslim wife and mother that seals this cinematic deal. She's superb."

"A luminous central performance from Golshifteh Farahani distinguishes an ambitious if somewhat monotonously wordy adaptation of a prize-winning best-seller."