"They were laughing when they drew their last breath": The culture of martyrs is about the only thing that survived the Iran-Iraq war, sprouting from its many graves. Fundamentalism is everywhere in Iran, but it is one of many strands that make up Iranian society, and from which veteran filmmaker Thierry Michel weaves an astonishing tapestry. "Michel is one tough filmmaker, unafraid of taking on subject matter that is not so much controversial as explosive," notes the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Even more courageous is the youth who states, "Our society is in freefall"; the coed dancers who express hopelessness ("Our lives are suspended"); young women learning the freedom of hang gliding; families who gather outside the prison where men are tortured for their beliefs; democracy advocates who gather in ever larger crowds. The Iranian revolution took one kind of courage; outliving it requires quite another. - Judy Bloch

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