A House Built on Water
A troubled Iranian doctor’s collision with an angel turns family wounds, compromised relationships, and mortal danger into a surreal reckoning.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- surreal
- brooding
- enigmatic
- quiet evening
- arthouse film night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Dr. Sepidbakht's collision with an angel and injury after touching its fingers initiates the film's moral and surreal unraveling.
The angel encounter, mysterious pursuers, and overlapping personal problems create an atmosphere of spiritual disorientation.
Sepidbakht faces his past relationships, his aging father, and his addicted son while threats close around him.
The film combines Persian-language social drama with an angelic figure and metaphysical consequences.
Films like A House Built on Water, and why
Taste of Cherry
surrealist drama blending mystical encounters, moral reckoning, and an emotionally troubled protagonist
The Wind Will Carry Us
iranian art-house storytelling that places spiritual uncertainty alongside everyday social reality
Wings of Desire
symbolic fantasy drama using an otherworldly figure to expose personal guilt and existential crisis
Movie Details
- Director
- Bahman Farmanara
- Release Date
- 2002-04-01
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (6)
Cast
- Reza Kianian
- Hedie Tehrani
- Ezzatollah Entezami
- Jamshid Mashayekhi
- Bita Farrahi
- Behnaz Jafari
- Roya Nownahali
- Shabnam Toloui
- Hossein Kasbian
- Mohsen Ghazi Moradi
Common questions
- What is A House Built on Water about?
- A troubled Iranian doctor’s collision with an angel turns family wounds, compromised relationships, and mortal danger into a surreal reckoning.
- What is A House Built on Water like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A House Built on Water as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A House Built on Water violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in A House Built on Water as moderate.
- Which films are like A House Built on Water?
- Films with a similar feel include Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, and Wings of Desire.
- How long is A House Built on Water?
- A House Built on Water runs 111 minutes.
