A female journalist travels to the holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer who has been murdering sex workers, believing he is cleansing the streets of sinners. Based on the true case of Saeed Hanaei, Abbasi's film is both a gripping procedural and a searing portrait of a society in which misogyny is codified into law. Zar Amir Ebrahimi's Cannes-winning performance anchors a film that refuses to look away from complicity — institutional, religious, and personal.
