The Girl in the Sneakers

When 15-year-old Tadai (Pegah Ahangarani) becomes enamored of a literature-quoting young man who hangs out in the park, her parents are infuriated. This being the patriarchal society of Iran, it's unseemly for the two of them to be together unsupervised, and the uptight parents of the youngsters are quick with reproachment. Tadai, with dreams of true love dancing in her head, runs away from home, hoping that the young man will shortly join her, but as a homeless woman later observes, "It seems there is not a single woman in the world who cannot be fooled." Needless to say, the boy isn't quite as committed, leaving Tadai to roam the streets of Tehran with just the proceeds from some pawned family jewelry to support her. She encounters numerous odd characters and dangers, and we get a good look at Iranian society in general. Old-fashioned as it may seem, it clearly contains a chivalry and respect for women that don't quite cancel out the other inequalities, but at least somewhat undermine arguments of simple-minded sexism. And America and Iran do have one thing in common: Tadai hangs a Backstreet Boys poster on her bedroom wall, while bemoaning her dad's love of traditional singing. As a passerby tells her, "The generation gap was not invented yesterday." He's right, but the sentiment hasn't been expressed this eloquently on-screen in quite a while. If you're a parent wondering what your teenage daughter dreams about when you tighten the reins of discipline, this is a must-see. It also may provide said teen with a more realistic assessment of that dream. Iran is a faraway country, and different from our nation in many ways, but some themes transcend distance and culture.