The Queen and I makes its local debut at CMA

A documentary about the former Queen of Iran, The Queen and I screens tonight at 7 and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25 at the Cleveland Museum of Art Lecture Hall. Here is our review of the movie.

The Queen and I (Sweden, 2008) Growing up in Iran while the Shah and Queen Farah ran the country, Nahid Persson Sarvestani had mixed feelings about their leadership. She originally supported the monarchy, but once she found out about its human-rights abuses, she joined an opposition group. These mixed feelings fuel her pursuit of a documentary about Queen Farah, currently living in exile in France. After writing numerous letters, she finally gets a call from Farah who says she’s ready to meet her. Their initial meeting goes well. The queen talks about the revolution and why she and the Shah fled the country in 1979. Sarvestani, herself an exile living in Sweden, finds she has more in common with Farah than she initially imagined, making it difficult for her to take a critical approach. Farah is equally conflicted, especially as she learns more about Sarvestani’s opposition to any sort of monarchy. That all makes for pretty compelling viewing. *** (Jeff Niesel)