Layers Of Lies is currently playing in Finland at select theaters.
Sohrab Productions
Actor and martial artist Ramin Sohrab has been climbing the latter in entertainment for the better part of fifteen years now. Little did many of us know that he also had hopes of sitting in the director’s chair – an aspiration that slowly became clear in the years since he came on radar with multiple site coverage and buzz with a 2014 short film titled “Malek”. Eight years later, Sohrab’s efforts now arrive full circle with Layers Of Lies, a new thriller billed as the first joint Iranian/Finnish action film culminating Sohrab’s feature directing debut.
Penning the script also came with time and effort, prior to screenwriter Chris Larsen’s addition to the team to update a previous draft by Sami Laulajainen and Joe Leone. Of course, the script wasn’t the only challenge as much as the production itself brought about even more hurdles along the way since cameras rolled in early 2018, all before the film was finally annouced last year for a screening for the 40th Fajr Film Festival back in February. And for an action film that demanded the kind of top-tier performance Sohrab has so far demonstrated in his previous shortfilms and past martial arts reels, you can imagine this adds to the naturally grueling nature of his craft.
Alas, to make any good action film, it has to tell a story. This one, in particular, centers on Sam (Ramin Sohrab), a firefighter who remains afflicted by a traumatic housefire during his childhood. After aiding in the rescue of almost two-dozen people from a burning building, including Shahin (Farshad Asadollahpoor), a man bound and gagged and held at gunpoint, Sam is reunited with Shahin after his own recovery and is generously compensated with a monetary gift which Sam reluctantly accepts.
Five years later and happily married to Emma (Jessica Wolff) in Finland, a couples’ getaway back to Sam’s home in Tehran leaves the ex-firefighter soon on a desperate search for Emma when she turns up missing. Fearing the worst and with no help from the police, Sam is forced to take matters into his own fighting hands, ensuing a dangerous mission to rescue his wife and ultimately uncover truth about her kidnapper, and the fateful blaze five years earlier.
It takes a good half hour for the story to hit the gas a little more, but the film starts off really well with an exciting opener, featuring Sohrab in character, forging through the aforementioned blaze along with his team to rescue building occupants. The film proceeds with a well-balanced characterization of Sam, highlighting his struggles and how they further correspond residual consequences stemming from earlier events with respect to each upcoming character. Inevitably, this includes the role of Arman (Nader Falah), a man with more than enough grievances to share as the film amply illustrates well within the first-half.
Sohrab Productions
Finnish actress Jessica Wolff joins Sohrab as his on-screen wife, Emma, who does much more than wait for Sam to rescue her, firstly enlisting her as a character who can pull her own weight and defend herself. Wolff’s own martial arts training and screenfighting experience compliments her well here, and it’s worth noting that I’ve previously taken note of in her screenfighting short film work alongside the likes of Fernando “Jay” Huerto, and that of Finnish indie fave Mikko Löppönen whose own 2015 revenge action short, Eliza, was pure adrenaline.
That Layers Of Lies isn’t entirely a wall-to-wall actioner, however, is worth considering in allowing Sohrab to test his own storytelling ability, which is where a good action movie counts, along with acting. To this end, Sohrab and his cast all put in fairly decent performances, including Falah and Asadollahpoor as opposing forces on screen, in addition to actress Venus Kanely and Arsalan Qasemi in the respective roles of Sam’s friends, Sarah and Navid.
At the end of it all, of course, is the full-on fight action in which Sohrab really gets to showcase some of his stuff. The film firstly establishes that Sam trains at home with a punching bag, and so it’s easy to suggest that he’s got some fighting chops that he can put to good use when called for. At one point during production while shooting a key stunt sequence, Sohrab unfortunately sustained an injury which took him out for a little while, and he even revealed this on social media.
Imaginably, there had to be some reshoots along the way, and fret not, because the scene included in the final print still works. With a leg brace and a few utility props to aid in some of the sequencing, Sohrab still manages to pull off some impressive feats that should place him squarely among the cadre of noticeable action stars today. The film’s final leg of action scenery gives us both Sohrab and Wolff taking on a small army of gangsters led by the film’s main villain, and it’s a treat to watch if you’ve had your eye on the independent short film scene and know who both stars are.
In offering the world its first-ever Iranian/Finnish action movie, Sohrab’s Layers Of Lies should suffice any martial arts action fan. There were many factors that got in the way of this film’s completion, including the aforementioned along with pandemic, and other things that I’m certain Sohrab will be revealing at some point as he rolls the film out to festival audiences and commercial viewers going forward. As things stand, however, consider Layers Of Lies your wake up call to Sohrab as the future of action cinema he deserves to be billed as.
LAYERS OF LIES Review: Ramin Sohrab’s Calling Card To Action Stardom
June 7, 2023
Layers Of Lies is currently playing in Finland at select theaters.
Actor and martial artist Ramin Sohrab has been climbing the latter in entertainment for the better part of fifteen years now. Little did many of us know that he also had hopes of sitting in the director’s chair – an aspiration that slowly became clear in the years since he came on radar with multiple site coverage and buzz with a 2014 short film titled “Malek”. Eight years later, Sohrab’s efforts now arrive full circle with Layers Of Lies, a new thriller billed as the first joint Iranian/Finnish action film culminating Sohrab’s feature directing debut.
Penning the script also came with time and effort, prior to screenwriter Chris Larsen’s addition to the team to update a previous draft by Sami Laulajainen and Joe Leone. Of course, the script wasn’t the only challenge as much as the production itself brought about even more hurdles along the way since cameras rolled in early 2018, all before the film was finally annouced last year for a screening for the 40th Fajr Film Festival back in February. And for an action film that demanded the kind of top-tier performance Sohrab has so far demonstrated in his previous shortfilms and past martial arts reels, you can imagine this adds to the naturally grueling nature of his craft.
Alas, to make any good action film, it has to tell a story. This one, in particular, centers on Sam (Ramin Sohrab), a firefighter who remains afflicted by a traumatic housefire during his childhood. After aiding in the rescue of almost two-dozen people from a burning building, including Shahin (Farshad Asadollahpoor), a man bound and gagged and held at gunpoint, Sam is reunited with Shahin after his own recovery and is generously compensated with a monetary gift which Sam reluctantly accepts.
Five years later and happily married to Emma (Jessica Wolff) in Finland, a couples’ getaway back to Sam’s home in Tehran leaves the ex-firefighter soon on a desperate search for Emma when she turns up missing. Fearing the worst and with no help from the police, Sam is forced to take matters into his own fighting hands, ensuing a dangerous mission to rescue his wife and ultimately uncover truth about her kidnapper, and the fateful blaze five years earlier.
It takes a good half hour for the story to hit the gas a little more, but the film starts off really well with an exciting opener, featuring Sohrab in character, forging through the aforementioned blaze along with his team to rescue building occupants. The film proceeds with a well-balanced characterization of Sam, highlighting his struggles and how they further correspond residual consequences stemming from earlier events with respect to each upcoming character. Inevitably, this includes the role of Arman (Nader Falah), a man with more than enough grievances to share as the film amply illustrates well within the first-half.
Finnish actress Jessica Wolff joins Sohrab as his on-screen wife, Emma, who does much more than wait for Sam to rescue her, firstly enlisting her as a character who can pull her own weight and defend herself. Wolff’s own martial arts training and screenfighting experience compliments her well here, and it’s worth noting that I’ve previously taken note of in her screenfighting short film work alongside the likes of Fernando “Jay” Huerto, and that of Finnish indie fave Mikko Löppönen whose own 2015 revenge action short, Eliza, was pure adrenaline.
That Layers Of Lies isn’t entirely a wall-to-wall actioner, however, is worth considering in allowing Sohrab to test his own storytelling ability, which is where a good action movie counts, along with acting. To this end, Sohrab and his cast all put in fairly decent performances, including Falah and Asadollahpoor as opposing forces on screen, in addition to actress Venus Kanely and Arsalan Qasemi in the respective roles of Sam’s friends, Sarah and Navid.
At the end of it all, of course, is the full-on fight action in which Sohrab really gets to showcase some of his stuff. The film firstly establishes that Sam trains at home with a punching bag, and so it’s easy to suggest that he’s got some fighting chops that he can put to good use when called for. At one point during production while shooting a key stunt sequence, Sohrab unfortunately sustained an injury which took him out for a little while, and he even revealed this on social media.
Imaginably, there had to be some reshoots along the way, and fret not, because the scene included in the final print still works. With a leg brace and a few utility props to aid in some of the sequencing, Sohrab still manages to pull off some impressive feats that should place him squarely among the cadre of noticeable action stars today. The film’s final leg of action scenery gives us both Sohrab and Wolff taking on a small army of gangsters led by the film’s main villain, and it’s a treat to watch if you’ve had your eye on the independent short film scene and know who both stars are.
In offering the world its first-ever Iranian/Finnish action movie, Sohrab’s Layers Of Lies should suffice any martial arts action fan. There were many factors that got in the way of this film’s completion, including the aforementioned along with pandemic, and other things that I’m certain Sohrab will be revealing at some point as he rolls the film out to festival audiences and commercial viewers going forward. As things stand, however, consider Layers Of Lies your wake up call to Sohrab as the future of action cinema he deserves to be billed as.
Lee B. Golden III
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
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