Get the latest gossip

‘6 A.M.’ Review: A Time-Ticking Thriller in Which the Protagonist’s Freedoms Prove Illusory


Iran's beloved satirist Mehran Modiri's second feature, the protagonist sees her carefully made plans crumble and her freedoms prove illusory.

As she eats what she jokingly refers to as the “Last Supper” with her university professor parents and brother Siavash (Mehrdad Sedighian), she’s interrupted by a call from her close friend Fariba (Mona Farjad) who insists that Sara stop by a final gathering of her peers, and won’t let her say no. The gathering hosted by Fariba and Peyman (Mansour Nasiri) in a spacious, Western-style apartment boasting an odd choice of art, proves larger than expected, with the male and female friends eating pizza and drinking illegal alcohol while discussing some social problems, including high rents. The dialogue includes an overwhelming number of mentions of “last” and “final.” However, in a more innovative choice, he eschews the ticking clock device another filmmaker might use to increase the running-out-of-time tension and instead cuts to black between his short scenes, inculcating a sense of finality, claustrophobia and dread.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Variety