The Queen and I

The Queen and I

Opening at AMC 21 August, 2009

Here is a review on our behalf of The Queen and I by Sheila Whitzmann

***

On so many levels, this documentary by an Iranian-born filmmaker about her 2yr. association with Farah Diba Pahlavi, the widow of the former Shah of Iranis a wonderful film. If it were only a personal interview with the former Empress of Iran and the life she now lives in Paris and Washington, that would be interesting enough. If it were only a story of how the filmmaker, Nahid Persson Sarvestani, an award-winning Iranian-born woman, gained the right to interview Farah, and the mutual admiration and respect that developed between them, that would be interesting enough. But throw into this mix the fact that Nahid had been a Communist while a young woman in Iran, and had actively fought for the overthrow of the Shah's regime, and we have a stirring tale of two very real and thoughtful women meeting and changing and coming to understand one another.

Farah is the real star of this documentary. She is so full of courage and charm, so intelligent, so approachable and honest, that she is a credit to humanity. And, like in a child's fairy tale, because she was an Empress, everything takes on an added glow. Nahid, too, exorcises some childhood demons and is smart and brave. See this movie. It will stay with you forever.