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BORN UNDER LIBRA

What You Need To Know:

In BORN UNDER LIBRA, an Iranian movie, Daniel is a young man from southern Iran who goes to college in Tehran, the nation’s capitol. He falls in love with a classmate, Mahtab. They make the necessary arrangements to get married, but a social and political turmoil and protest in school over Islamic rules regulating relationships between men and women puts them on opposite sides. Mahtab’s political allies frame Daniel for writing an offensive romantic poem. His reputation shot, Daniel returns home to the rural countryside. Mahtab travels there to apologize, but they eventually get stranded in an abandoned war zone littered with land mines and booby traps.

Although it was interesting to see the inside of higher education in Tehran, BORN UNDER LIBRA doesn’t take off until Daniel and Mahtab get stuck in the war zone among the land mines and booby traps. There’s not much character development during these scenes, however, and the movie ends on an anti-climactic tragic note as if the director and screenwriter couldn’t decide on a more tidy and profound resolution to his protagonists’ predicament. Because of its mature themes, brief violence and apparently romantic worldview, MOVIEGUIDE® recommends caution for older children.

Content:

(RoRo, O, FR, B, L, VV, D, M) Romantic worldview with reference to astrology, people debate Islamic rules regarding relationships between men & women & a couple positive references to God, including one character says, “God is forgiving”; 2 mild obscenities & 12 mild profanities; two people become trapped in abandoned, mine-infested war zone, resulting in explosions, images of skeletons & tragedy, with some blood shown; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol use; smoking; and, libel.

More Detail:

In BORN UNDER LIBRA, an Iranian movie, Daniel is a young man from southern Iran who goes to college in Tehran, the nation’s capitol. He falls in love with a classmate, Mahtab. They make the necessary arrangements to get married, but a social and political turmoil and protest in school (over Islamic rules regulating relationships between men and women) puts them on opposite sides. Mahtab’s political allies frame Daniel for writing an offensive romantic poem. His reputation shot, Daniel returns home to the rural countryside.

Mahtab travels by train to reconcile with Daniel, but Daniel is still upset. He decides to take her back to Tehran on his motorcycle that very night. They get caught in a terrible rainstorm, however. The bike crashes, and they find themselves stranded in a wasteland. Eventually, they come upon an abandoned war zone. Unfortunately, the area is littered with land mines and booby traps. As they depend on the survival skills that Daniel learned in Iran’s war with Iraq, the couple restores the bond of love that brought them together in the first place.

Like most Iranian movies, Iran’s code of decency results in none of the graphic sex, violence, nudity, and foul language that regrettably permeates many American movies. BORN UNDER LIBRA appears to have, however, a romantic worldview. The social turmoil on the campus is like the war zone in the second half of the movie. It threatens and corrupts the human spirit. Thus, it is only when Daniel and Mahtab work together as equals, away from civilization, that they are able to rediscover the love they lost. Even so, society still has some land mines which they must navigate if their love is to survive.

Although it was interesting to see the inside of higher education in Tehran, BORN UNDER LIBRA doesn’t take off until Daniel and Mahtab get stuck in the war zone among the land mines and booby traps. There’s not much character development during these scenes, however, and the movie ends on an anti-climactic tragic note as if the director and screenwriter couldn’t decide on a more tidy and profound resolution to his protagonists’ predicament. In fact, a comment on the Internet about the themes of this movie from the director and screenwriter indicates a confused, trite and pretentious approach to the subject matter. The statement drifts off into meaningless gibberish about “the ship of love sailing through the immense vastness of the sky” and traveling “from the dawn of eternity to the depths of the infinity with the sorrow of memory.”

Because of its mature themes, brief violence and romantic worldview, MOVIEGUIDE® recommends caution for older children.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.