Who Gives Kisses Freely from Her Lips

Within Iran's Islamic theocracy, a couple's decision to live together without being married is a criminal action; however, a loophole of sorts, the sigheh (temporary marriage) can be used to allow young people to test the waters of matrimony, or older people who have lost their mates through divorce or death to enjoy limited companionship without a full commitment. Simin Farkhondeh's documentary looks at this quirk of Iranian society, interviewing men and women who are either in the midst of this uncommon arrangement or have previously tried it. For women, the temporary marriage allows them to enjoy more civil rights than traditional marriage—one man glumly admits his sigheh wife became annoyed with him and arranged for a passport to leave the country, which she could not have done in a regular marriage. Who Gives Kisses Freely from Her Lips, however, is never entirely clear on how mainstream Iranian society views sigheh or why the ruling ayatollahs would allow it as a means of skirting their interpretation of Islamic law. The film also suffers from an awkward framing device that uses a docudrama approach with a female Iranian-American filmmaker named Salomé, who is supposedly making the documentary with the help of a handsome bachelor named Reza. Nonetheless, this fascinating look into a little-understood aspect of contemporary Iranian society is recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)