Director: Masud Kimiai
Cast: Behrouz Vossoughi, Bahman Mofid, Fariba Khatami, Hassan Shahin, Mohsen Mahdavi
Reza Motori is a 1970 Iranian drama film written and directed by Masoud Kimiai, starring Behrouz Vossoughi in a dual-identity thriller that blends social critique with the rough street energy that defined pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema's golden era.
What is Reza Motori about?
Reza is a street-tough motorcyclist who feigns mental illness to escape an asylum, then joins a friend in robbing a factory. By chance, a young writer arrives at that same asylum to research an article — and happens to be Reza's physical double. The staff detain the writer, mistaking him for the escaped convict. Reza, now free, slips into the writer's life and identity, moving through different social circles. When he meets the writer's fiancée, feelings he never expected surface, and Reza begins to question whether the stolen money and the borrowed life are worth holding onto — though the people around him have their own plans.
Cast & crew
Behrouz Vossoughi carries the film in a dual role that showcases his physical presence and emotional range — at the time one of the most recognized faces in Iranian popular cinema. Bahman Mofid provides grounded support, while Fariba Khatami and Parvin Malakuti anchor the domestic world that Reza's deception threatens to unravel.
Context & significance
Masoud Kimiai emerged in the late 1960s as one of the architects of the Iranian New Wave, and Reza Motori sits at the intersection of genre thriller and social commentary that became his signature. The film captures the texture of working-class Tehran — its alleys, its loyalties, its unwritten codes — with an authenticity that resonated deeply with Iranian audiences of the era. For the diaspora viewer, the film is a window into a Tehran that no longer exists: the city's pre-revolution rhythms, its fashion, its particular brand of masculine honor. Kimiai would go on to direct landmarks of Persian-language cinema, and this early work shows precisely why his name carries such weight among Iranian film lovers worldwide.
Where & how to watch
Reza Motori is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN required, no geo-blocking, and no extra download needed. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.