The Stoning of Soraya M. is an incredibly gripping film based on the true story of an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery by her husband, where the punishment is death.  This is all so that her husband would be able to divorce her and marry a fourteen year old girl.  

This story is based off of the book The Stoning of Soraya M.,  written by a French-Iranian journalist, Freidoune Sahebjam.  When Freidoune's car breaks down in a small village in Iran he is approached by a woman named Zahra, Soraya's aunt, who tells him Soraya's story.  This book is actually banned in Iran today.  

Although, some of the scenes in this film are simply horrific, this movie is worth attempting to sit through because it is heart-wrenching, intense, important and meaningful.  To think that women are treated as less than nothing in Iran is simply unbelievable.  Soraya's own father shunned her and was the very one to throw the first stone.  Her own sons also took part in the stoning of their mother.  It was truly astonishing to see how cruel people can be to one another and how little regard some people have for the human race.  One person thinking that they are better than another is how the world ends up confused and in total disarray. 

I was blown away by the strength of Soraya's aunt, Zahra, who did not let fear cripple her and protected her niece as much as she could, speaking out against what she knew to be wrong, to the people who were in charge of this false accusation.  She is an incredible person to have told her story to Freidoune Sahebjam so that the world would know the truth and be able to see what happens to these women.

You may recognize Shohreh Aghdashloo, who plays Zahra, and Jim Caviezel who plays Sahebjam in the film.  They did a phenomenal job as well as Mozhan Marnó who plays Soraya.  To see this woman's story played out on onscreen...there simply are no words.  This film, in Farsi with English subtitles, really sheds a light on how the women are regarded as less than nothing and how stoning is still practiced around the world, which is truly sad to think.  

The Stoning of Soraya M. was recognized at the 2009 Critics Choice Awards, The Los Angeles Film Festival, and The Toronto Film Festival. 

Here are links to the movie and the book courtesy of Amazon.com:

Check out the trailer here: