After the screening there will be a Q&A with the film's director, Taghi Amirani.
In this documentary-meets-detective-story, there is a reckoning with one of the most striking foreign interventions. In 1953, a military coup led by British MI6 and backed by the CIA overthrew Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. His crime: nationalizing the country’s oil. The truth behind that original regime change for oil was buried for decades. Iranian director Taghi Amirani, a Queen’s Park resident, spent 10 years uncovering what really happened. With the handiwork of editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) and a gripping performance by Ralph Fiennes, the film unfolds like a John le Carré spy thriller — except every word is true. Coup 53 feels less like history and more like a warning: it exposes the roots of today’s war with rare clarity and urgency.
The film’s editor is Walter Murch, who worked on “The Conversation” and “The Godfather: Part II” (both 1974) so there’s not much that he doesn’t know about conspiracy – how it leaks into a movie like the smell of drains.
Anthony Lane – The New Yorker
This powerful and authoritative documentary by the Iranian filmmaker Taghi Amirani is as gripping as any thriller
Peter Bradshaw – The Guardian
Ralph Fiennes appears, lending a wry le Carré air to proceedings as an enigmatic MI6 agent with an explosive testimony.
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh - The Times
It’s like taking a swim in John le Carré’s brain
Dave Calhoun - Time Out
We're launching a new strand here at the Lexi called LEXI SELECTS!
Our programming team bring you a curated weekly release that didn't get the attention it deserved here. Some may be films we missed from earlier this year, some may be from a few years ago, but they're all exceptional films which we think our audience will adore.
Bora reunite for more unmissable Brazilian cinema at The Lexi Cinema in partnership with Cine Brazil!
Throughout August we're screening 4 Brazilian classics from the 2000s, and in September a bonus film to close things out.
Rewatch the saudosos classics or catch them for the first time on the big screen.
📽️ A Dog's Will (Auto da Compadecida) - Aug 2, 4 & 6
📽️ City of God (Cidade de Deus) - Aug 9, 10, 12 & 13
📽️ Ó Paí, Ó - Aug 16, 18 & 20
📽️ Basic Sanitation the Movie (Saneamento Básico) - Aug 23, 25 & 27
📽️ Bacurau - Sep 6 & 10
All Sunday screenings will have an introduction before the film.
All films with English subtitles.
