Film
The Queen and I
- Drama
- Slow-burning
An intimate 90-minute conversation between filmmaker Nahid Persson and Farah Pahlavi, the last Empress of Iran, both exiles living outside their homeland since 1979. Part memoir, part portrait, entirely unhurried—two women across a gulf of history and politics finding unexpected common ground. Quietly powerful, shot close and personal.
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Faces Places2017
JR and Agnès Varda travel rural France photographing ordinary people in monumental scale. Like The Queen and I, it's a meditation on time, legacy, and human connection forged in brief, generous encounters.
But Structurally loose and philosophically meandering; if you want plot momentum, this will frustrate you.
Grey Gardens1976
The Maysles brothers film two reclusive women in a decaying mansion—mother and daughter, bound by history and regret. A masterpiece of intimate documentary that captures the texture of a life lived in exile from the world.
But Claustrophobic and sometimes uncomfortable to watch; it doesn't look away from decay, either physical or emotional.
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains2007
A survivor of the Andes plane crash revisits the crash site decades later. Like The Queen and I, it's about returning to the place that defined you and reckoning with what it means to have survived.
But The trauma is real and sometimes graphic; it's not a comfortable experience, even for the willing.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Chungking Express1994
Both are meditations on what remains when you're separated from home: memory, longing, and the unexpected grace of human presence.
Wong Kar-wai's dazzling film about two lonely people circling each other in Hong Kong is suffused with nostalgic longing and the ache of displacement. The visual poetry and emotional precision speak to exile and connection across silence.
But Stylistically maximalist and narratively fragmented; if you prefer clarity and plot, the beauty will feel like obstruction.
More like this (7)
Nostalgia1983
Andrei Tarkovsky's meditation on memory, displacement, and spiritual longing, filmed partly in Italy with a Russian poet in exile. The mood and philosophical register are kindred to Persson's intimate approach.
But Glacially paced and deeply abstract; if cinema needs to move you quickly, this won't. Demands patience and surrender.
Shoah1985
Claude Lanzmann's nine-hour documentary speaks to survivors and witnesses about the Holocaust through long, unhurried conversation. It proves that cinema's greatest power is sometimes just listening, without flinching.
But Its length is not accidental—it is the point. Nine hours. Most viewers will not finish it, and that's okay.
Citizen Kane1941
Welles constructs a portrait of a powerful person through fragments, memories, and the testimonies of those who knew them. A precedent for understanding power and exile through character rather than chronology.
But A canonical masterpiece can feel like homework; its influence is so complete it sometimes feels less like discovery than obligation.
La Haine1995
Mathieu Kassovitz's portrait of marginalized youth in Paris uses long takes and close observation to find dignity and complexity in people society has written off. The visual discipline mirrors Persson's approach.
But Its politics are unambiguous and its anger is justified but consuming; it won't leave you feeling serene.
The Act of Killing2012
An unflinching documentary about Indonesian death-squad leaders confronting what they've done. It shares The Queen and I's conviction that dialogue across irreconcilable positions can reveal unexpected humanity.
But Morally and emotionally exhausting; watching men rationalize atrocity, even in pursuit of reckoning, takes a toll.
My Architect: A Son's Journey2003
Nathaniel Kahn's search for his father, the architect Louis Kahn, combines personal history with aesthetic inquiry. A son trying to understand a parent through what they left behind—a related emotional architecture.
But Frequently self-indulgent and sometimes feels more about the filmmaker than the subject; patience required.
Moonlight2016
Both understand that a life lived in exile—from home, from self, from the world's permission—can be rendered in small, true moments rather than grand narrative.
Barry Jenkins' film observes a Black boy becoming a man across three decades and three tones, registering how identity forms and reforms through relationship and circumstance. Visually and emotionally precise about displacement and desire.
But Quiet and oblique; it reveals through suggestion rather than statement. Some will find that restraint poetic; others will find it evasive.
People
Cast
Directing
- Nahid Persson SarvestaniDirector
Writing
- Nahid Persson SarvestaniWriter
- Zinat S. LloydWriter