The Lizard

One of the funniest movies to come out of Iran in the past 30 years, The Lizard is about an imprisoned thief who escapes by donning clerical garb. As a “cleric,” he is hilariously mistreated — taxis refuse to pick him up and a young boy pretends to receive his blessing as he picks his pocket. The film was such a pop-culture sensation that young Iranians began referring to clerics on the street as “lizards.” The Lizard was never officially banned, but it was pulled from theaters after several of the country’s ruling clergy protested. Interesting side note: Director Tabrizi went on to produce some of the campaign videos for Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s presidential bid in 2005. —http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=5005&page=1