Without Anything
A wealthy woman’s return to her impoverished Iranian village awakens desperate hopes of salvation and tests the community’s moral limits.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- somber
- tense
- melancholic
- serious film night
- world cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics and festival juries broadly embraced the film's direction, adapted screenplay, ensemble performances, craft, and socially charged village drama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The impoverished villagers dream that Lily's return and wealth will rescue them from migration, poverty, and misery.
The village's prolonged poverty and forced migration drive the plot's escalating collective demands.
The screenplay credits Friedrich Dürrenmatt, and the village-centered ethical dilemma reflects his tradition of social allegory.
Lily's homecoming after twenty years reorganizes the villagers' expectations and relationships.
Films like Without Anything, and why
The White Ribbon
Shared rural social drama, moral pressure, class conflict, and community judgment.
A Separation
Shared Iranian social realism, collective hardship, and ethically complex community dynamics.
The Village of No Return
Shared allegorical village setting, economic desperation, and escalating communal tension.
Movie Details
- Director
- Mohsen Gharaie
- Release Date
- 2021-02-02
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 5.0 / 10 (4)
Cast
- Parviz Parastouei
- Hedie Tehrani
- Hadi Hejazifar
- Baran Kosari
- Babak Karimi
- Pedram Sharifi
- Mahtab Nasirpour
- Laleh Marzban
Common questions
- What is Without Anything about?
- A wealthy woman’s return to her impoverished Iranian village awakens desperate hopes of salvation and tests the community’s moral limits.
- What is Without Anything like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Without Anything as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Without Anything violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Without Anything as mild.
- What did critics think of Without Anything?
- Critics and festival juries broadly embraced the film's direction, adapted screenplay, ensemble performances, craft, and socially charged village drama.
- Which films are like Without Anything?
- Films with a similar feel include The White Ribbon, A Separation, and The Village of No Return.
- How long is Without Anything?
- Without Anything runs 119 minutes.
