Opening in the Family Law Courts, central Tehran, women here want divorces for various reasons. Their husbands are impotent, distrustful without explanation. restrictive, deceitful or violent. The film clearly shows what stands between the women and their new lives. Women who choose divorce are resisting silence and obedience. However they must face conventional stalling tactics, impudent silence. and reconciliation gestures from their husbands, families, and the Court. At this documentary′s core stands Maryam, fighting for custody of her two daughters against the Islamic Law that decrees divorced women must give up their kids. As Maryam′s desperate struggle goes on, the law forcing a woman to be a faithful mother and wife reveals itself as a law only possible through the sacrifice of a woman′s identity and aspirations. Co-directors Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini show the situation through simple unobtrusive narration, and thoughtful camera movements. Their style conveys to the audience that the problems of Iranian women concerning marriage and family relations are also universal issues surrounding women today. This collective truth is the most powerful virtue of Divorce Iranian Style. (Kim Mee-Hyun)