Persian Lessons
2020
•
2h 7min
• Drama, War
Inspired by true events, Persian Lessons is a powerful and harrowing story of survival from director Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) anchored by exceptional performances. Nazi-occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Beats per Minute, The Intruder) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside fellow Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger, Personal Shopper, High Life). As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle.
