''Low Heights'' (in Persian: ارتفاع پست, transliteration: Ertefa'e Past) is a 2002 Iranian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Ebrahim Hatamikia Ebrahim Hatamikia (; born 23 September 1961) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and actor. Hatamikia is a prolific proponent of films depicting the Iran–Iraq War's impact on Iran. His films are considered some of the be ...

and starring

Hamid Farrokhnezhad Hamid Farrokhnezhad (, Romanized as 'Hamīd Farrokhnežād'; born 17 April 1969) is an Iranian actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh (two for acting), two Hafez Awards, three Iran Cinema ...

Leila Hatami Leila Hatami (; born 1 October 1972) is an Iranian actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of Iranian Cinema, she is considered one of the most prominent performers in the 21st century. She is recognized for her realistic acting in dram ...

Amir Aghaei Amir Aghaei (; born August 1, 1970) is an Iranian actor and author. Career Amir Aghaei made his cinematic debut by performing in Ebrahim Hatami-Kia's ‘Low Heights’ (2001). Among his movies are ‘The Second Woman’ (2007), ‘Elixir and Du ...

, Reza Shafiee Jam, and

Gohar Kheirandish Gohar Kheirandish (; born ) is an Iranian actress and was born in Neyriz. While studying and working in Tehran, Kheirandish started working in television. Her first film, Days of Waiting, was directed by Asghar Hashemi. She then appeared in '' ...

. It was written by Hatamikia and

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
is an Iranian ...

Plot

Ghasem, together with his wife Narges, his mother and other relatives, takes a flight to

Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas (, ) is a city in the Central District of Bandar Abbas County, Hormozgan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Bandar Abbas is a port on the southern coast of the country, on the Persian ...

, Iran. He seeks to get hired by an industrial company. Since the conditions of work and life are hardly satisfactory, everyone accepts the auspicious invitation. Narges is the only one who knows the true intentions of her husband. Once the plane has taken off and reached cruising altitude, Ghasem takes out a gun, disarms the only flight marshal, threatens the pilot and requires a change of destination to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. While Ghasem is distracted by internal altercations, a second security guard, who till then had been taken for a passenger, leaps at the hijacker and snatches his gun. As the plane again heads for the planned destination, a new maneuver conducted by Narges succeeds in grabbing the gun and the hijackers once again redirect the plane to Dubai. Short of fuel, the plane ends up crashing into the water in the middle of nowhere. The story is partly based on a true event which happened on December 13, 2000, when three members of an extended family of 23 tried to hijack a plane during an Iranian domestic flight. That flight however landed safely and the hijackers' actions failed because of the timely reaction of the flight guards. The initial verdicts of death penalty and life imprisonment for the main culprits were later commuted to lengthy prison sentences.

Cast

Hamid Farokhnezhad Hamid Farrokhnezhad (, Romanized as 'Hamīd Farrokhnežād'; born 17 April 1969) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh (two for acting), two Hafez Awards, thr ...

Reza Shafiei Jam Ahmad-Reza Shafiei-Jam (, born July 1, 1971) is an Iranian actor. He is famous for his roles in comedy TV series and films. Filmography Cinema * ''Mard-e Avazi'' ('' The Changed Man'') * ''Ertefa'-e Past'' (''Low Height'') * '' Soorati'' * ' ...

Mehdi Saki Mehdi Saki (born 1974, Khuzestan) is an Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West As ...

*Mohammad Ali Inanlou *Shahram Ghaedi

Sources

External links

* * Films directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia 2002 films Iranian thriller films Films set on airplanes 2002 action thriller films Films about terrorism in Asia Crystal Simorgh for Audience Choice of Best Film winners Thriller films based on actual events Films about aircraft hijackings Asghar Farhadi {{Iran-film-stub