Tehran Taboo (2017) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Parallel stories of women and men confronting legal, sexual, and economic restrictions in Tehran.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Lives Under Constraint

Pari is forced into prostitution while caring for Elias, and her imprisoned husband blocks her attempt to divorce. Pregnant Sara seeks work despite opposition at home.

Key Events

• Pari Is Forced Into Prostitution — Poverty forces Pari into prostitution while her six-year-old son Elias is present. Characters: Pari, Elias Location: Tehran
• Pari's Husband Remains Imprisoned — Pari's imprisoned drug-addicted husband refuses to approve her divorce. Characters: Pari Location: Tehran
• Sara Searches For Work — Pregnant Sara seeks employment despite her husband's opposition. Characters: Sara Location: Tehran
• Pari Seeks A Divorce — Pari goes before a judge to request a divorce without her husband's approval. Characters: Pari Location: Islamic Revolutionary Court

A Divorce Without Freedom

Pari appeals to the Islamic Revolutionary Court, but the judge replaces legal independence with a concubine arrangement. She is housed in an apartment where she meets Sara.

Key Events

• The Judge Offers A Concubine Arrangement — The judge barters a concubine arrangement instead of granting Pari an independent divorce. Characters: Pari Location: Islamic Revolutionary Court
• Pari Enters The Apartment — The judge houses Pari in an apartment he owns. Characters: Pari Location: Judge's Apartment
• Sara Meets Pari — Pari meets her neighbor Sara in the apartment setting. Characters: Pari, Sara Location: Judge's Apartment
• Babak Meets Donya — Babak has sex with a young woman at an underground party. Characters: Babak Location: Underground Party

The Cost Of Purity

Babak learns that Donya is expected to appear virginal for marriage. Their effort to fund an illicit operation exposes the economic force behind the taboo.

Key Events

• Donya Announces Her Marriage — Donya tells Babak that she is about to marry another man. Characters: Babak Location: Tehran
• Virginity Restoration Becomes Necessary — Babak and Donya must raise money for an illicit operation to restore the appearance of virginity. Characters: Babak Location: Tehran
• Donya Reveals The Trafficking Plan — Donya reveals that she is being sold to a trafficker for transport to Dubai. Characters: Babak Location: Tehran
• Donya Explains The Price Of Virginity — Donya explains that virgins command higher prices in the trafficking market. Characters: Babak Location: Tehran

Truths In The Apartment

Donya reveals to Pari that she is being sold to Dubai rather than married. Pari then uses Sara's phone for a prank call that places Sara in danger.

Key Events

• Donya Tells Pari The Truth — Donya tells Pari that she is not marrying and is instead being sold to Dubai. Characters: Pari Location: Judge's Apartment
• Pari Uses Sara's Phone — Pari places a gag sex call to a janitor using Sara's phone. Characters: Pari, Sara Location: Judge's Apartment
• The Call Is Traced To Sara — The gag call is traced back to Sara rather than Pari. Characters: Pari, Sara Location: Judge's Apartment
• Sara Is Ordered Out — Sara's husband orders her out of the house after the call is attributed to her. Characters: Sara Location: House

Downfall And Escape

The call is traced to Sara, who is expelled by her husband and later commits suicide. Babak flees the country as the film closes on devastating consequences.

Key Events

• Sara Faces Social Ruin — The traced phone call causes Sara's downfall and leaves her expelled from her home. Characters: Sara Location: Tehran
• Sara Commits Suicide — After being ordered out, Sara commits suicide. Characters: Sara Location: Tehran
• Babak Flees Iran — Babak flees the country after the escalating crisis surrounding Donya. Characters: Babak Location: Iranian Border
• The Women Remain Trapped — The conclusion leaves Pari and Elias within the oppressive system while Sara's story ends in tragedy. Characters: Pari, Sara, Elias Location: Tehran

Story Breakdown

• Pari's Entrapment — Pari's poverty, motherhood, and blocked divorce force her into an exploitative arrangement.
  • Forced Prostitution — Poverty pushes Pari into prostitution while Elias is present.
  • Blocked Divorce — Her imprisoned husband refuses the approval required for divorce.
• Judicial Exploitation — The court transforms Pari's request for legal freedom into a coercive personal arrangement.
  • Court Appeal — Pari seeks a divorce at the Islamic Revolutionary Court.
  • Apartment Arrangement — The judge houses Pari in an apartment he owns.
• Sara's Vulnerability — Sara's attempt to work and live independently is constrained by pregnancy and domestic control.
  • Seeking Employment — Sara looks for work against her husband's wishes.
  • Neighborly Connection — Sara meets Pari in the apartment setting.
• Babak And Donya — Babak and Donya confront the consequences of sexual taboo and the demand for apparent virginity.
  • Underground Encounter — Babak has sex with Donya after an underground party.
  • Marriage Crisis — Donya's expected marriage creates an urgent problem over virginity.
• Trafficking Revelation — The apparent marriage plan is exposed as a sale to a trafficker bound for Dubai.
  • Illicit Operation — Babak and Donya try to raise money for restoration surgery.
  • Sale To Dubai — Donya tells Pari that virgins command higher prices in trafficking.
• The Phone Call — Pari's prank using Sara's phone redirects suspicion and destroys Sara's position at home.
  • Gag Call — Pari places a sexual prank call using Sara's phone.
  • Call Traced — Authorities or others trace the call back to Sara.
• Tragic Endings — Sara's expulsion and suicide contrast with Babak's flight from the country.
  • Sara's Suicide — Sara commits suicide after being ordered out of the house.
  • Babak's Flight — Babak flees the country as the film concludes.

Directed by

Ali Soozandeh

Key Cast

• Arash Marandi — Babak
• Alireza Bayram — Mohsen
• Şiir Eloğlu — Schwiegermutter
• Zar Amir Ebrahimi — Sara
• Klaus Ofczarek — Father-in-Law