Shohreh Aghdashloo: A Voice for the Voiceless

A Boston.com article from early 2004 profiled the Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. In that article she was quoted as saying the following: “It really disturbs me,” she [Aghdashloo] says, “when I see a voiceless woman, a voiceless human being who’s been abused or molested, and can do nothing about it. It kills me.” That article was about Aghdashloo’s career and her performance in the film, “House of Sand and Fog” and the article noted that her character from that fictional film was “a voiceless woman” who had Aghdashloo to speak for her in the movie. Another voiceless woman whose story Aghdashloo is trying to tell us is that of Soraya M., the lead character in the new film “The Stoning of Soraya M.”  

“The Stoning of Soraya M,” which I had the opportunity to view several weeks ago, is a great film about a difficult subject. The movie tells the story of Soraya M., an Iranian woman accused of betraying her husband and the brutal consequences of that invalid accusation. In the film, Aghdashloo plays an Iranian talking to a reporter about what happened to her niece Soraya only a few hours before the journalist arrived in town. According to the film’s website, the movie  is “inspired by Paris-based journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which, rife with intrigue and moral outrage, first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was buried to her waist in her hometown square and stoned by her fellow villagers.”

The movie is not easy to watch but the truth of what really happened to Soraya is much more difficult to contemplate partially because there are many other stories of stonings that will never receive the attention of the world. With violence continuing in Iran in the wake of the election there, many critics see this film as an important reminder of the brutality of some leaders and as a reminder of the brutal violence that still occurs throughout this world. Chip Hanlon (no relation) wrote a review on the Huffington Post about this film where he noted the following: “Certainly, it is a story that needs to be told since the barbaric practice of stoning still occurs in our world today…Yet the courage it took to get this story out to the world does little good if this film is missed. ” Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote the following about the film: “It will be hard for many to get through to the end, but staying with the movie brings a reward. Despite the brutality, the film is also beautiful and true. It reminds us that a woman in some parts of the world can be destroyed at a man’s whim without consequence. The beauty is that truth will out. ”

Several days after watching the film, I re-watched Shohreh Aghdashloo’s film “House of Sand and Fog,” a brilliant film about a family forced to move from Iran who end up in a major conflict with the previous owner of their new home in the United States. (Even in the small role of the wife of a former colonel, Aghdashloo received a well-deserved Oscar nomination.)  In the film, Aghdashloo was trying to tell a fictional story about a family struggling to start over in the US. In that movie, as in “The Stoning,” Aghdashloo stood out as an actress who has lived in Iran and who has the depth and ability to play characters from that unique perspective, a perspective that is often lacking in films and television today.

In “The Stoning of Soraya M.” Aghdashloo portrays a woman with a story to tell and not afraid of the consequences of telling that story. As an actress, Aghdashloo tells stories also and, even in minor roles, she gives her characters a strong voice and a mission. However, her characters onscreen are not the only ones with a purpose. 

The Washington Post recently featured an interview with the actress where she said, “The way I have lived and worked and the nature of my being has turned me into an actress with a mission, and I’m looking for subject matters that would shed light on injustices.” People should see “The Stoning of Soraya M.” to learn about a story about a woman that some people wanted to remain voiceless, a story about an injustice that could have been silenced.
 
In telling the story of the stoning, Aghdashloo’s character provides a voice for the reporter who eventually told Soraya’s story to the world. And the actress herself continues to be a brilliant voice for women whose stories might otherwise have been silenced.