Directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir, “Tatami” delivers as both a sports drama and a political thriller. Powered by awards worthy performances from Arienne Mandi and Zar Amir, “Tatami” opens June 13 at New York’s IFC Center. CinemAddicts co-host Bruce Purkey has high praise for this film, so please keep this movie on your radar! Check out his review below!
Shot in black and white, “Tatami” centers on Leila (Arienne Mandi), an Iranian judo athlete who is forced to withdraw from the world championships by her coach Maryam (Zar Amir). That said, her coach is getting pressure from the higher ups who do not want Leila to possibly face an Israeli rival in the final match.
Will Leila cave into the pressure and surrender her dreams of victory? Both Maryam and Leila’s families are being threatened, and if Leila refuses to listen she puts their loved ones in harm’s way.
Both Bruce Purkey and Eric Holmes gave “Tatami” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and to be honest, I’ll be changing my 4.5/5 rating to 5/5 as well. For some reason, I held back during our CinemAddicts recording, and after further consideration, I am a complete moron for short changing this movie!
“Tatami” hits New York’s IFC Center on June 13th. The following week it travels to Los Angeles for a run at the Laemmle Royal. Keep this movie on your radar and let us know your thoughts on “Tatami” in the comments!
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