''The Glass Agency'' ( fa, آژانس شیشه‌ای) is a 1998 Iranian drama film written and directed by

Ebrahim Hatamikia Ibrahim (also spelled Ibraheem) ( ar, إبراهيم, ) is the Arabic name of the prophet and patriarch Abraham and one of Allah's messengers in the Quran. It is a common first name and surname among Muslims and Arab Christians, a cognate of t ...

, and one of his most successful works and one of the most popular and controversial films of post-revolutionary Iranian cinema. ''The Glass Agency'' is set in a travel agency where an armed veteran takes hostages after failing to raise enough money for his injured comrade to travel abroad for medical treatment. The film candidly reveals some of the major fault lines in Iranian society today. With its complex message of sympathy for the veterans and criticism of those who exploit their status for political purposes, the film has won praise from

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and

reformists Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can e ...

alike.

Plot

Two veterans of Iran-Iraq war, Abbas and his wartime commander Kazem are the main protagonists of the film. Abbas comes to Tehran to seek medical treatment for a war injury. Kazem wants to help Abbas as the doctor recommends that he should go abroad for the operation. However, it is almost New Year's Eve, and arranging a flight becomes difficult. Kazem is suffering from hegemony which is seen in the postwar society. The problems they encounter make Kazem lose his temper, and he ends up taking a whole travel agency hostage.Entry in New York Times Movie Section - The New York Times
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Cast

Parviz Parastui Parviz Parastui ( fa, پرویز پرستویی ; born 24 June 1955) is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor–making him the only actor to have four wins in that category–four Hafez ...

as Haj Kazem *

Reza Kianian Reza Kianian ( fa, رضا کیانیان , born June 19, 1951 in Tehran) is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorgh, a Hafez Award and two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards. Early life Kianian is the se ...

as Salahshoor * Habib Rezaei as Abbas Heydari *Bita Badran as Narges * Asghar Naghizadeh as Asghar * Ghasem Zareh as Ahmad Kuhi * Behrouz Shoeibi as Salam * Farshid Zarei Fard as Agency Manager * Majid Moshiri * Ezzatollah Mehravaran * Nasrin Nakisa * Mehrdad Falahatgar * Mohammad Hatami * Sadegh Safai

Reception

Accolades

At the 16th Fajr International Film Festival, The film won both

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and Audience Choice of Best Film, making it the first film in The history of

cinema of Iran The Cinema of Iran (Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films have garnered international fame a ...

to win the latter. The Glass Agency also won nine

Crystal Simorgh The Crystal Simorgh ( fa, ‌سیمرغ بلورین) is an award given by Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival ( fa, جشنواره بین‌المللی فیلم فجر), or Fajr Film Festival (litt ...

awards and a Diploma Honorary including: *

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

(

) * Best Screenplay (

) * Best Actor (

) * Best Supporting Actor (

) * Best Supporting Actor ''Diploma Honorary'' (Habib Rezaei) * Best Supporting Actress (Bita Badran) * Best Original Score ( Majid Entezami) * Best Editor ( Hayedeh Safiyari) * Audience Choice of Best Film and It was nominated in four other categories including: * Best Cinematography ( Aziz Saati) * Best Sound Editing (Mohsen Roshan) * Best Makeup (Mehrdad Mirkyani) * Best Production Design (Hamidreza Charkchyan)

References

External links