Politically speaking, Blair and screenwriter Hanna Weg (adapting a novel by Dalia Sofer) have to walk a tricky line. They're understandably negative about the revolution, which led directly to Iran's current hardline Islamic regime – yet they acknowledge that the previous rule of the shah left much to be desired as well.

Brody (Isaac) is arrested and tortured.

This leaves the film with no real dramatic centre: Isaac and Farnez are portrayed as complacent yet innocent, caught up in these events as they might be in a natural disaster.

The most interesting character is the Amins' maid Habibeh, forcefully played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, a veteran Iranian actress who worked with Kiarostami before relocating to America. Torn between her residual loyalty to her employers and the revolutionary fervour of her son (Navid Navid), Habibeh has a genuine conflict to face. But this is inevitably sidelined in favour of conventional suspense sequences as the Amins try to make their escape.