Rent Persian Lessons (2020)
3.7 of 5 from 129 ratings
2h 7min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Inspired by true events, 'Persian Lessons' is a powerful and harrowing story of survival, anchored by exceptional performances. Nazi-occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside fellow Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger). As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle.
- Actors:
- Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger, Jonas Nay, David Schütter, Alexander Beyer, Andreas Hofer, Leonie Benesch, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Nico Ehrenteit, Giuseppe Schillaci, Antonin Chalon, Serge Barbagallo, Peter Beck, Felix von Bredow, Pascal Elso, Marcus Calvin, Mehdi Rahim-Silvioli, Ingo Hülsmann, Elena Stetsenko, Gennadiy Fomin
- Directors:
- Vadim Perelman
- Producers:
- Rauf Atamalibekov, Timur Bekmambetov, Pavel Burya, Murad Osmann, Vadim Perelman, Ilya Stewart, Ilja Zofin
- Writers:
- Ilja Zofin, Wolfgang Kohlhaase
- Studio:
- Signature Entertainment
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama, Thrillers
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Reviews (3) of Persian Lessons
Tense thriller - Persian Lessons review by Alphaville
Tense thriller about a young Jewish man who, to avoid execution by the Nazis, pretends to be Persian in order to teach the camp commandant the language. The problem is: he knows no Persian. Inspired by a true story, it’s an intriguing concept. Many concentration camp films are well-intentioned but clichéd. This is something different that grabs from Scene 1. No set-up scenes, back stories or screeds of stagey dialogue. This is fast-paced and exciting.
Unlike in many films set during WW2, the Nazis here are real people with problems of their own. The commandant himself, cruel but complex, is a wonderful creation that ranks alongside Ralph Fiennes’ SS Officer in Schindler’s List.
Our hero has to invent the language as he goes along. To begin with, the commandant wants only four words a day, but that soon adds up to become a lot to remember. It makes you wonder if you could do it yourself. Then one day the commandant asks for 400 words…
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Great - Persian Lessons review by JM
Really enjoyed, great film, won't go all Barry Norman but thought it was a good watch. Great cast etc.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Brilliant, tense, moving concentration camp films based on a true story - Persian Lessons review by PV
This is a brilliant film which the BBC Radio Times reviewer inexplicably gives 3 stars out of 5 - amazing considering the woke tickbox dross they award 5 stars to.
A fascinating and true story, really tense, believable characters - Nazis too who are not cartoon cutouts.
Great acting too from the 2 fine main actors. Lars Eidinger as the Nazi student stars in lots of German films and some English.
No hesitation in awarding it 5 stars.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.