Banned in Iran, Santouri follows Ali (Bahram Radan), a popular singer-songwriter and player of the santoor (an ancient stringed instrument), as he spirals into heroin addiction and destroys his life and career. Radan gives a gut-wrenching performance as the film’s talented but severely flawed protagonist who loses everything and alienates the people closest to him because he can’t control his addiction, which, the film implies, is the by-product of living in a repressed country. A mix of modern and traditional music, the soundtrack is terrific, too. Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. At 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 and at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. HHH
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2008.
