source: Beyond Paradise

It is an opening into the how love is perceived as a consequential emotion by many people through many cultures, rather than being acted upon with the presumed support of the family and community. MIsha Crosby as Ray brought such a dimension of realism to the plot, truly a fantastic performance. I believe the characters have interacted with each other in believable ways. It was also very refreshing to watch Max Amini's character, who plays a comedian, play through this film experiencing serious life and marital dilemmas, rather than hype up his comedic career and force a constant "funny man" character. Through the film, Rumi poems and implications are placed organically and help the viewer to sympathize with Shahrzad and her struggle coping between unrequited love and searing pains from the past.

A deliciously fresh take on the modern love story with gripping dramatic moments. It's a poetic, passionate film that loves its characters. I could not take eyes off of star Francia Raisa from the moment she graced the screen. She wholly embodies the role of Shahrzad and nails every emotion too a tee -- lust, shame, self-loathing, fear, artistic passion, and so much in between -- as the haunted and conflicted woman who escapes her oppressive homeland, and becomes the center of a complex love triangle in her newfound Western surroundings. Ryan Guzman not only looks GOOD as Sebastian, the Spanish American gardener who captures the heart of Shahrzad, but really delivers both charm and sensitivity needed to set the sparks really do fly between the two of them. Strong performances from the supporting cast -- especially impressive is Daphne Zuniga as a former movie star turned piano teacher also entangled in a love affair with Sebastian. The characters also boast their own love affairs, so to speak, with the poems of Rumi and Lorca which playfully tie into the story. The soothing music of Tchaikovsky and Persian classical music effectively amp up the emotional level of the story, paired with equally rhythmic and playful visual intercutting. Great film all around.

A woman moves from Iran to California and an arranged marriage. She falls in love with her piano teacher's gardener. Quite a timely topic since there is this ongoing deal with Iran. Interesting to see a movie about someone from there. The flashbacks could have been enlarged to show more contrast. Franca Raisa acts quite well - very different from her "Secret Life" role. For an American Latina actress she pulls of a Middle Eastern look and speech quite well. At times her character acts a bit too brazen for someone who came from a supposedly repressive regime. Daphne Zuniga is quite good as the sick piano teacher. Ryan Guzman and Franca look right together but why was his character so idiotic at the end? The ending is just terribly clichéd and predictable. I won't spoil it but it makes you feel like you wasted time watching the movie.

A quiet film that can easily be discarded as just a romance with two good looking young film stars (Ryan Guzman and Francia Raisa), but it touches on many social issues, such as surviving breast cancer, cultural differences, women's rights and violence against women. What makes this film unique is it's ability to combine classic poetry (Rumi and Lorca) with classical music (Tchaikovsky, Iranian music)weaving the story through its journey. Also note worthy are the other actors: Daphne Zuniga, Misha Crosby, Maz Amini and Yareli Arizmendi. This isn't a film you want to put on in the back ground while doing laundry. Watch it for its many subtleties.

Movie was good, but the main actress did not get the Iranian accent right. Including the "Iranian" mom. Both by the way are not Iranian at all. But storyline was interesting. I love reading poetry by Rumi. He was def a romantic at heart. The movie was good to watch, I would recommend it.

I watched it with my 20 years old daughter, and we both loved it very much. it's very romantic, touching story line, and great act by Ryan, Francia and Max. loved the poems and songs in the movie. Francia played as a Persian girl, and she did great. Ryan did a fantastic romantic act. RUMI poems were picked very well for this movie, and beautiful voice singing them. it brought up the women issues in Iran, which touched me a lot. I liked the original dialogue. the film is original, pointing to issues in the world such as tortures, forced immigration, forced marriage and relationships. great movie to watch.

This movie is perfect. I loved that there were many important topics touched upon and it wasn't only focused on the romantic love story. It was very well written, directed, filmed, edited, and the cast was perfection. I believe Francia Raisa played the role really well, I felt every emotion she was feeling and that to me is powerful acting. She created a perfect passionate match for a love story with Ryan Guzman. Their on screen chemistry was amazing. I enjoyed the way the music and poetry was incorporated into the film as well. Very creative. Not many films draw me in emotionally, but this movie definitely did just that. I HIGHLY recommend watching it.

I have not seen such a good well developed story in a while. The film is full of artistic moments: classical music ,poetry, good acting. I liked the cast,I saw that they delivered and brought to the screen a very powerful story. I was actually very impressed that this romantic love drama touched such a strong subject and talked about women rights. You don't really see much of important, urgent topics in romantic movies and this was amazing, that the director was able to combine all the elements in his movie, and touched the topic of violence against women. The movie is well made and need to be seen and shared among people . Highly recommend this poetic drama for everyone.

source: Beyond Paradise