In a remote corner of Afghanistan, the religious tyrant Haji has taken control of a tiny village, winning over many young local men to his cause, but remaining at odds with the local spiritual leader Moazen. The story centres on a young man (Narouii) working for Haji who while executing prisoners is stopped because the next woman to be shot is a virgin (Moghaddam), and by definition she must be innocent! So Haji orders the executioner to marry the condemned woman--with obvious repercussions. In his confusion, the executioner turns to Moazen, his young stepsister and his stepfather, who calls him a traitor to both his people and to God for siding with Haji.

Like his previous movie Secret Ballot, Payami films in extremely long takes that are virtually silent yet still manner to speak volumes; the breathtaking opening shot is more than 10 minutes long and establishes the entire story. This minimalist approach makes the film feel deeply realistic and beautifully artistic at the same time, bringing out sharp edges of personality, colourful culture and the struggle for life and truth in the middle of this parched and literally God-forsaken desert. All of this happens in such an understated way that it works itself deep under our skin and says more than 100 preachy mainstream movies (if big-time filmmakers could be bothered to make a film about such a relevant topic).

Moghaddam is the only professional actor in the cast, and she brings a quiet strength to her role--without even saying anything we can tell this woman is opinionated and resolved. And when she does speak she's calmly radical. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast grows on us, and Narouii's expressive face brilliantly draws us into his inner turmoil to such a degree that the emotional punches hit us powerfully. The title refers to that dawning moment when the main character realises he must abandon fundamentalism for truth. This is very strong stuff--"Guns have no shame; they don't know right from wrong"--and Payami tells the story unblinkingly. Don't miss it!