Director: Alireza Nesaei
Cast: Dariush Ashrafi, Ehsan Amani, Elham Nami, Farid Ghbadi, Pourya Rostami
Larv is a 2020 Iranian action film directed by Alireza Nesaei, following a police unit's relentless pursuit of a major drug cartel in a high-stakes undercover operation. Clocking in at ninety minutes, it delivers a gritty portrait of law enforcement navigating a criminal world where ordinary lives are caught in the crossfire.
What is Larv about?
A specialized police unit has been tracking a powerful narcotics syndicate for months, but every attempt to close in on the cartel's leadership runs into dead ends, corrupt informants, and lethal counter-moves. To dismantle the drug distribution and transit network, the officers must go deeper than procedure allows — accepting risks that put innocent bystanders in grave danger. The closer the team gets to the top, the higher the human cost climbs, forcing each officer to weigh duty against conscience in a city where the line between hunter and hunted blurs with every step.
Cast & crew
Director Alireza Nesaei keeps the action grounded and kinetic throughout. Dariush Ashrafi and Reza Akhlaghirad anchor the core law-enforcement team, bringing a lived-in credibility to their roles. Ehsan Amani, Elham Nami, Farid Ghbadi, and Pourya Rostami round out the ensemble, each adding weight to the moral stakes the story raises.
Context & significance
Iranian crime cinema has grown more ambitious in recent years, moving beyond simple procedurals toward stories that examine the social fabric torn apart by drug trafficking — a crisis the diaspora community knows affects families across Iran. Larv sits within this tradition, blending the pulse of an action thriller with a street-level realism familiar to viewers who grew up watching Iranian television crime series. For Persian-speaking audiences abroad, films like this offer a window into the pressures facing ordinary police officers and families back home, rendered with an authenticity that foreign productions rarely capture.
Where & how to watch
Larv is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on your browser, Android TV, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.