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"'I want to have my own life'," insists Eitek (Yar-Mohammad Damanipour), a teenage shepherd in a remote Iranian village. The life he chases is a dream - to emigrate to the United Arab Emirates - - but the dream looks set to become reality when Eitek finds an adolescent Afghani refugee Gol Mohammad (Jan-Mohammad Tajik) to tend his sheep. But then his father is killed and local custom dictates that Eitek must take revenge on the person responsible...

A shrewdly observed tale from debut director Abdolrasoul Golbon, this economical feature presents its 17-year-old protagonist with a profound ethical dilemma - - to what extent should family loyalties stand in the way of a quest for independence? It's a thorny issue, one of several tackled here, and it's dealt with directly and emotionally. Okay, so there's little here in the way of surprises, but Paradise Is Somewhere Else exhibits a strong sense of place and a glut of sturdy performances.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.