Director: Saeid Asadi, Hamid Tamjidi
Cast: Parviz Pourhosseini, Mahboobe Bayat, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Ghasem Pakroo, Saeid Asadi...
Saraab is a 1986 Iranian drama film co-directed by Saeid Asadi and Hamid Tamjidi, following a provincial math teacher whose move to the city spirals into financial hardship and a desperate search for his missing child. A quiet, grounded portrait of family vulnerability in urban Iran.
What is Saraab about?
Nasser Farahmand, a mathematics teacher from a small town, is persuaded by his wife to relocate to the capital in search of a better life. From the moment they arrive, the family finds itself entangled in a web of mounting debt and unfamiliar pressures the city imposes on ordinary people. Their troubles deepen sharply when their young child disappears, throwing the household into panic. Nasser's older colleague and friend, driven by loyalty, undertakes a determined search through the crowded city streets. Whether that effort brings relief or further heartbreak forms the quiet, unresolved tension at the film's core.
Cast & crew
The film stars Parviz Pourhosseini in the lead role of Nasser, a restrained performer known for conveying everyday struggle with understated conviction. Mahboobe Bayat plays his wife, and veteran actor Jamshid Mashayekhi brings weight to the older colleague whose devotion becomes central to the story. Ghasem Pakroo and co-director Saeid Asadi round out the ensemble.
Context & significance
Saraab belongs to a strand of Iranian social realism that flourished in the mid-1980s, turning a careful eye on the pressures of urbanization and economic instability facing ordinary families. For diaspora viewers who left Iran around that era or grew up hearing their parents describe that period of uncertainty, the film's mood of displacement and longing carries an extra resonance. The Farsi title literally means mirage — an image that captures the elusive promise of a better life the city seems to offer. At 99 minutes, it is a modest, sincere production that rewards patient viewing.
Where & how to watch
Saraab is available on K-Time in original Persian audio. No Persian subtitles are included. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime.