Writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof (Iron Island; Head Wind) expertly weaves poetry, mythology, metaphor, and the absurd to tell the mystical story of Rahmat, who sails from island to island on salt-filled Lake Urmia to collect tears as people unburden their sorrows into glass jars. It is said that the tears are turned into pearls and their sins are atoned for, but Rahmat's intentions remain an enigma. The first community he encounters is about to bury an attractive and possibly promiscuous woman in a salt cave. At his next stop, a childlike dwarf is chosen to deliver the jars of sorrow down a well before sunrise. As punishment for not wanting an arranged marriage, a desperate adolescent is literally married off to the sea. Finally, an artist is incarcerated simply for using a different color to portray the monotone landscape. – Gene Siskel Film Center

The White Meadows is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the Global Lens 2011 film series.

Please note that the printed MFAH Films calendar incorrectly states a January 28, 7:00 p.m. screening of Howl.