‘Cast Aside The Clouds’ Shines A Light On Iran And The Bahá’í Faith
(REVIEW) “Cast Aside the Clouds” is a perfect example of a film that really expanded my horizons — while also inspiring some pushback from me.
Set in modern-day Iran, the film showcases the lives of the persecuted Baháʼí religious community there. For viewers who are mostly unfamiliar with the Baháʼí faith and community, the film is a chance to learn about their beliefs and struggles.
But engaging with new ideas and perspectives also means sometimes critiquing and pushing back on them. While “Cast Aside the Clouds” has its heart in the right place, key parts of its execution mean it won't have the kind of impact it wants.
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Layla Khosravi has spent her life living under surveillance and systemic persecution. As a member of Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, her Baháʼí Faith is not officially recognized — leaving her vulnerable to limitations in education, employment and personal freedoms.
Her faith, though forbidden, is the source of her strength. When she meets Dr. Sasan Naderi — a secular neurologist shaped by the state’s dominant narratives — what begins as curiosity evolves into a relationship that challenges Naderi to question what he has been taught to accept.
“We set out to tell a story that feels deeply human and universally relevant,” said director Mary Darling. “So often, the images we see of Iran are limited to conflict and devastation. We wanted to offer something different-a window into real lives, real love, and the quiet resilience that exists alongside hardship. At its core, this is about the courage to think independently, to question inherited beliefs, and to choose love in the face of fear.”
There’s a lot to like about what “Cast Aside the Clouds” is trying to do. At its core, it wants to tell a “Romeo and Juliet”-style love story that protests how religious intolerance — such as the kind regularly levied against the Baháʼí people in Iran — threatens love by targeting innocent people for oppression.
It seems like a typical rom-com in the first half, before taking a turn and having one of them be taken away by Iranian government agents. This tone shift, reminiscent of films like “Life is Beautiful,” which starts out as a rom-com before becoming a Holocaust film, is one of the film’s smartest creative decisions.
It does help us learn about a faith that most people are unfamiliar with. The Baháʼí religious population globally is typically estimated between 7 and 8.5 million, with an estimated 300,000 in Iran — equal to about 0.4% of the population. They believe that all religions are true, merely different chapters of the same book. The film gives several different metaphors for this, including the idea that God is a mirror that was shattered, and each religion got a different piece of the mirror. In many ways, it will seem functionally similar to Western pluralism.
But there are a couple of glaring weaknesses in the film that make it hard to recommend beyond this. Artistically, the film is pretty boring. There is little variation between shots and editing or rhythm in the dialogue. Even the scene towards the middle that is supposed to showcase the big “shift” between the rom-com first half and the “thriller” portion of the second half does so in the most basic manner possible.
But it’s the writing of the characters and the evolution of their relationships that is the most problematic. The first half of the film is supposed to be where we’re falling in love with the romantic leads and rooting for them. But it’s lacking in chemistry, laughs, conflict, and even a deep sense of knowing these characters.
Films which try to build a loveable relationship before a “dramatic turn” typically find ways to build these things into the first act. “Life is Beautiful” made the first half about the lead trying to win his love’s affection with humor, despite the barriers in their way. “You’ve Got Mail” had the two leads hate each other, making their conversations fascinating, funny and revealing by keeping their secrets as a Hitchcockian “ticking time bomb” for their relationship.
But “Cast Aside the Clouds” does the exact opposite of this. They constantly downplay the differences and cultural barriers between the main characters, Khosravi and Naderi. The film downplays the culture shock between the two families. They never remind us of the ticking time bomb of how Naderi hasn’t told Khosravi he’s moving away. They rarely dig deep into the details of who these people are and what makes them weird and interesting.
This is partly by design. Darling told the Hollywood Reporter that they specifically didn’t reveal Khosravi and her family were Baháʼí until later in the film. “We held off until page 30 of the script, because we wanted people, especially those with a prejudice, to have a chance to fall in love with Layla (Khosravi).”
But there are a couple of problems with this. One is logistical. The entire premise of the film is a Baháʼí woman falling in love with a secular Muslim man. Why would anyone prejudiced against the Baháʼí community watch this movie in the first place? You can’t have your premise be the twist. But the second problem is deeper. You don’t “fall in love” with people by making people generic, but by embracing what makes them unique. It’s through embracing the uniqueness of people that you discover how similar you are.
“Cast Aside the Clouds” argues that the differences between faiths are ultimately trivial, and focusing on our differences divides us rather than unites us. In that sense, by downplaying the details and uniqueness between groups and peoples, the film is showing integrity toward its own beliefs. As someone who thinks the world is better when different religious voices are in the filmmaking marketplace, I applaud this in principle.
But like the many Christian filmmakers I’ve reviewed, the team behind this film needs to work on how to present those beliefs in a way that actually connects to our humanity. One of the best examples I’ve seen of growth toward religious unity has come from the modern Christian apologetics/counter-apologetics online space.
Figures like Gavin Ortland, Trent Horn, Redeemed Zoomer and Alex O’Connor will go on each other’s podcasts or make videos arguing with each other about whether protestantism or Catholicism is true or whether religion or atheism/agnosticism is more sensible.
But they typically do it with love, charity and respect. Sometimes they will actually send each other the scripts for their episodes beforehand so they don’t misrepresent each other’s positions.
As someone who grew up in the days when cries for “Christian Unity” were preached but went nowhere, and Christians and the “New Atheists” were at each other’s throats, this is the closest I’ve seen to unity I’ve seen in my lifetime. But here’s the thing: It’s coming from the people who are arguing with each other, and being very specific about their differences. Can the Baháʼí faith do this? The movie suggests it doesn’t want to — and that’s its strength.
The heart of “Cast Aside the Clouds” is in the right place. And it’s doing a great service by highlighting people and issues that not many people in my part of the world know. Hopefully, future films by this team will continue to grow their craft so they can truly take the place they want in the religious-cultural imaginative conversation.
For theaters and showtimes playing “Cast Aside the Clouds,” visit castasidetheclouds.com.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.