TATAMI: Fierce and Refusing to Flinch

If you haven’t heard of Tatami, you should seek it out. Not only is it one of the best films of the year, but it might just be one of the most important.

It’s the kind of film that lingers in a quiet and unapologetic way. Co-directed by the spectacular Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv, it’s not just a tense sports drama or a political allegory; this is a gut-punch of humanity wrapped in discipline, silence, and defiance. From the very first frame, you can feel the emotional temperature rising. 

Don’t Bet Against the Human Spirit

In many ways, the story starts simply. It follows Leila Hosseini, a promising Iranian judo competitor (played with controlled fury by Arienne Mandi), who is competing for the win.

However, as things begin to go well, she is ordered to throw her match rather than risk facing an Israeli opponent. It’s a command born of politics, rooted in real-life policy, but it lands in Leila’s world like a loaded gun. What follows is less about judo and more about moral strength. This film works because it balances both so well. It allows the audience to feel the general thrill of watching a live sports event with the persistent agony of knowing the intimate backstory and, the cost. 

The tension is relentless, mounting pressure over every scene. She’s not only fighting for her right to compete, but for her identity, her safety, and her future. Mandi sells every flicker of emotion with sharp subtlety, carrying much of the film on her shoulders with impressive restraint. 

Ebrahimi, who co-directs and plays Leila’s coach Maryam, gives an equally stirring performance. Their relationship becomes the emotional core of the film because it goes through various stages. Sometimes it’s unbuilt and other times, regained. The moments between them are both soft and brutal at once. There is an equally mounted pressure that threatens to collapse on them and it is threaded with fear, maternal protectiveness, and a shared understanding of the system they’re up against. Ebrahimi‘s career has been fantastic and she’s an actress I’m consistently astounded by.

The film’s strength lies in its stillness. I mentioned that Tatami lingers. It lingers because it makes an intense impression.

The best way I can describe it is an internal scream. But, even that doesn’t give it justice because it neglects to display the fact that this movie is a sounding call.

Visually, it’s both gritty and gorgeous. Stripped to black and white it brings it to an organic level, somehow keeping things on an even keel even when the story is anything but. The camera keeps the frames tight and steady, building to the white knuckle feel of the narrative grip. The screenplay (co-written by Nattiv and Elham Erfani) is calculated. Words have focus and specific, loaded intent. And boy, do they land. 

Conclusion: Tatami

And let’s not ignore the significance of this collaboration beyond the screen. An Israeli and an Iranian co-directing a film is monumental. Tatami does a terrific job of combining personal rebellion and national loyalty that speaks to freedom, womanhood and personal choice. 

The story and the film are daring in a way we don’t see often enough. It’s not perfect, some of the pacing falters, but there are moments that land like the swiftest hit. 

Tatami isn’t about the win, it is about the cost of refusing to lose yourself. In a world that constantly asks women (especially women under authoritarian regimes) to stay silent, it dares to scream. And, it speaks volumes. 

Tatami was released in limited theaters on June 13th, 2025.