Persian Lessons movie review & film summary (2023)

Also, through their conversations, we learn more about the lives and desires of these Nazis than we ever do of Gilles/Reza. Who is he outside this present trauma? Who was he before the war? "Persian Lessons" is a showcase for Biscayart’s polyglot abilities, but the narrative never bothers to explain why Gilles/Reza speaks multiple languages, nor how he can seemingly make up this brand new fake Farsi language. 

Eventually, the film deigns to introduce a few more Jewish characters, two brothers from Italy, only to use them as emotional fodder to further torture Gilles/Reza. Late in the movie, when he chooses to sacrifice his freedom for one of them, Koch asks him why he would trade his life for one of these nameless people. Gilles/Reza replies, “They’re only nameless because you don’t know their names.” 

This moment is engineered to make an emotional impact on the audience. But it’s dulled completely as this shallow film can only seem to define the humanity of Gilles/Reza—and his fellow Jews—through their trauma and nothing more, while somehow giving more grace and texture to their tormentors. 

Biscayart does a lot of heavy lifting with his deeply felt performance, despite the lack of depth his character is afforded. His expressive, soulful eyes transmit more nuanced, truthful emotions than any of the film’s hackneyed dialogue. It is truly a testament to his talent that the film’s final moments, in which his mnemonic device plays a pivotal role, find any truth. "Persian Lessons" ends on yet another overly engineered scene, in which the names of thousands of dead are used to evoke a harrowing sadness, when the film never bothered to let us know them when they were alive. 

Now playing in theaters.