Line #40 Film/Marmoulak


1	A 2004 Iranian dramedy starring Parviz Parastui as "Reza the Lizard," a small-time crook famous for his ability to climb walls.
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3	When he is arrested and given a life sentence for armed robbery, he nearly despairs, but manages to escape in disguise as a mullah. Unfortunately for him, he is not a religious man and the only thing he knows about religion is a quote from the mullah whose clothes he stole: "[[ArcWords There are as many ways to God as there are people]]".
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5	Reza is mistaken for a genuine cleric appointed to a small town, where he tries to hide until he can escape the country. Unfortunately for him, the prison warden is furious at his escape and will stop at nothing to recapture him.
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8	!!This film provides examples of:
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10	* AccidentalHero: Reza's nocturnal outings to obtain a passport are seen by the villagers as charity work. Eventually, he becomes famous for his saintliness, which is the last thing he wants.
11	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Faezeh's mother confides her son-in-law's moral and [[TeenyWeenie physical]] shortcomings to Reza quite frankly, which mortifies her daughter.
12	* ArcWords: "There are as many ways to God as there are people."
13	* AttemptedSuicide: Reza. He doesn't succeed, but his injury leads to his meeting the mullah in the hospital.
14	* BadassBoast: "Never mess with a man of the cloth... especially if he's from downtown Tehran!"
15	* BadHabits: The premise of the film.
16	* BecomingTheMask: Reza doesn't become an actual mullah, or even genuinely religious, but he does end up becoming a significantly better person.
17	* BrickJoke: The films of Creator/QuentinTarantino.
18	* CurseCutShort: Reza does this a lot as he struggles to pretend to be a holy man.
19	* DefeatMeansFriendship: The enormous thug becomes Reza's devoted follower after Reza beats him up.
20	* DidNotGetTheGirl: Although Reza and Faezeh are attracted to each other, Reza does the honourable thing and urges her to go back to her reformed husband.
21	* DomesticAbuse: Faezeh's husband used to beat her before he became a reformed character.
22	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Reza is eventually caught by the warden. However, the warden is implied to have somewhat softened after witnessing Reza's redemption, and Reza has undergone a great deal of CharacterDevelopment.]]. And the other character has admitted to having the gun Reza got his life sentence for, opening the prospect of eventual release.
23	* EveryoneHasStandards: Reza is a common criminal, but he is disgusted by the businessman who wants to cheat on his wife under the guise of a temporary marriage, and forbids it.
24	* ExactWords: The Warden tells Reza that if he rescues the bird trapped in wire, he will not have to do chores for a week. When Reza succeeds, the Warden [[KickTheDog locks him up in solitary confinement for a week]], where he won't have to do chores.
25	* TheFundamentalist: The Warden. Averted with the real mullah, however.
26	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Mojtaba takes notes of nearly everything Reza says, even if something more important is going on.
27	* GoodShepherd: The actual mullah is a very nice guy.
28	* HeelFaceTurn:
29	** Faezeh's ex-husband goes from a thuggish abuser to a humble GentleGiant who goes from door to door giving food to the poor.
30	** PlayedForLaughs when the master forger suddenly repents of her criminal life and destroys Reza's fake passport, which she had been working on for a long time.
31	* InspectorJavert: The Warden is pretty much an {{Expy}} of the original.
32	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Reza is quick-tempered and very rough around the edges, but is ultimately a decent person.
33	* KickTheDog: The Warden puts Reza in solitary confinement for any reason or no reason.
34	* MamaBear: Faezeh's mother.
35	* NotMeThisTime: Reza is a criminal, but he actually is innocent of the crime he receives a life sentence for.
36	* PetTheDog:
37	** Reza rescues a bird trapped in some wire, which is a sign that he is actually a good-hearted person despite being a criminal.
38	** The Warden excuses Reza for punching another prisoner and sends the provocateur to solitary instead. This helps establish him as a WellIntentionedExtremist, not a simple sadist.
39	* RescueRomance: Seems to be set up, as Reza rescues Faezeh from her abusive ex-husband. Ultimately averted, however, as the husband reforms and begs her to forgive him, which Reza encourages her to do.
40	* RousseauWasRight: Ultimately, no one in the film turns out to be irredeemable.
41	* RunningGag:
42	** Because the mullah addressed him as "dear brother," Reza calls everyone "dear brother" as well. Even if they're a woman.
43	** The complicated religious questions Mojtaba and Gholamali keep asking him.
44	* RunForTheBorder: Reza's attempts to do this keep being thwarted.
45	* TaughtByTelevision: Reza learns how to pretend to be a mullah from watching TV preachers, who range from TheFundamentalist to discussing the theology of the filmography of Creator/QuentinTarantino.
46	* ThoseTwoGuys: Mojtaba and Gholamali.
47	* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Warden appears to be completely sincere in his desire to bring all of his prisoners to heaven by force if necessary.

Context Film / Marmoulak