Djomeh review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Like many films made under immense restrictions in Iran, Hassan Yektapanah's warm, humane and sometimes witty directorial debut matches subtle means with great thematic scope.

Djomeh (Jalil Nazari) is a 20-year-old Afghan man working on a dairy farm in Iran. He's also smitten - - unfortunately for him - - with an Iranian girl in a village store. His ardour not much helped by conservative attitudes, Djomeh turns to the farm owner, Mahmoud (Mahmoud Behraznia), to press his love-sick case.

That's it plotwise, but Yektapanah's supple script finds riches in this simple premise. There's much talk of exile, friendship, loneliness, vocation, age, custom and cross-cultural longing, set against a vividly realised work-day bustle and played with deft economy - - the evocative use of sound even lends the off-screen mooing of cows a wry resonance. This small but lovely fable of fraught love is an object lesson in making a virtue of simplicity.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Thriller Movies
Black Bag
This new spy thriller starring Michael Fassbender earns near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score with glowing first reviews
Claire Danes as Juliet and Miriam Margolyes as Nurse in the movie Romeo + Juliet.
The 33 greatest movies based on Shakespeare
Bloodsport
The 32 greatest '80s action movies
The Bridges of Madison County
The 32 most heartbreaking movie moments
The Surfer
Nicolas Cage just wants to surf but keeps getting bullied by locals in bizarre trailer for new thriller being compared to Midsommar
Blake Lively as Emily in Another Simple Favor
7 years on from the original, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick reunite in sinister, sun-soaked first trailer for comedy thriller sequel Another Simple Favor
Latest in Reviews
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
The pump header of the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB showing a 35 degree cpu
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB review: "Has some solid design points that make installation a lot easier"
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid gaming keyboard on a wooden desk with blue lighting
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid review: "one of the best value Hall effect gaming keyboards out there"
Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State review: "Although this may be their most visually stunning movie yet, it looks like the Russos are yet to find their footing outside of the MCU"