Duel
A battle-scarred Iranian former prisoner of war hunts a document-filled chest while fighting the stigma of betrayal and the chaos of his country’s violent past.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- tense
- serious
- kinetic
- serious movie night
- international cinema discovery
What critics said
Critics viewed the film as vigorous, well-acted Iranian commercial war cinema distinguished by its energetic direction and convincing battlefield chaos.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Zeynal returns after more than two decades as a prisoner of war only to be branded a traitor.
Zeynal and Eskandar pursue a chest containing important documents for different purposes.
The film uses smoke, noise, and battlefield chaos within an Iranian story of wartime captivity and postwar suspicion.
Zeynal's homecoming is immediately complicated by the accusation that he betrayed his country.
Films like Duel, and why
Three Kings
shared war drama intensity, morally complicated soldiers, and kinetic combat spectacle
The Deer Hunter
shared prisoner-of-war trauma, battlefield chaos, and serious military drama
The 33rd Day
shared Iranian war cinema context, national memory, and action-driven historical drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Ahmad Reza Darvish
- Release Date
- 2004-07-06
- Runtime
- 133 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (5)
Cast
- Saeed Rad
- Pejman Bazeghi
- Parivash Nazarieh
- Kambiz Dirbaz
- Anoshirvan Arjmand
- Parviz Parastouei
- Hedie Tehrani
- Hosein Tooshe
Common questions
- What is Duel about?
- A battle-scarred Iranian former prisoner of war hunts a document-filled chest while fighting the stigma of betrayal and the chaos of his country’s violent past.
- What is Duel like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Duel as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Duel violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Duel as graphic.
- What did critics think of Duel?
- Critics viewed the film as vigorous, well-acted Iranian commercial war cinema distinguished by its energetic direction and convincing battlefield chaos.
- Which films are like Duel?
- Films with a similar feel include Three Kings, The Deer Hunter, and The 33rd Day.
- How long is Duel?
- Duel runs 133 minutes.
