The Glass Agency (1998)

This movie is one of the most successful (domestically), and controversial, Iranian films of the recent years. It is also a prime example of movies which do very well in Iran but cannot find an audience abroad. Its director, Hatami Kia, makes movies which deal exlusively with the issue of war and its after effects. The glass agency's theme and structure closely resember that of Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. A Gulf war veteran, frustrated in his attempts to convince the government agencies to send another veteran from his former unit to London for urgent surgery, takes the people in a travel agency as hostages and demands a plane to take his former comrade to UK. The issues tackled in this film are almost unique to Iran unlike films by say, Kiarostami whose films deal with universal issues. The Glass Agency is, however, brilliantly directed, boasting several outstanding performances and a haunting music score (which closely resembles that of Kielowski's Blue). Worth watching