The stoning of Soraya M

The location was a remote village in 1980s Iran, where a French Iranian reporter's vehicle breaks down on his way to the border. While waiting for it to be fixed, he is approached by a Zahrah, a woman with a secret to share and whom the entire village intimates to him is unstable. Her story which takes him back over the preceding months and culminating in a most horrendous finale only the night before exposes corruption, religious manipulation and abuse of women's human rights in the country.

Starring Shoreh Agdashloo, Jim Caviezel and a graceful, Mozhan Marno, The Stoning of Soraya M is a chilling look at the treatment of women in areas where the justice system is based on a patriachal religious doctrine. What makes it more horrifying to comprehend is the fact that these practices are still being carried out today, with very little indication that there will be a change in sight. If you come from any country where Sharia laws are practiced in any form, The Stoning of Soraya M is an eye opener into the many ways that its laws can be manipulated to prey on women and those who have no rights under the law.

Not to be misconstrued as an attack on Islam or its practices, the movie starts slow, yet ends with a heartbreaking finish. This movie is a must see, for everyone, everywhere because this could very well happen where you live.

Catwalq Grade: A-