Read this review before watching ‘Neighbors’

‘Neighbors’ series is themed on neighborhood in its true sense, narrating the life stories of people living next door to each other.

In addition to having the main roles in their own stories, the characters play a minor but effective role in other characters' life.

In Islam, neighbors have rights on us and we need to take good care of our neighbors if they need any help. For instance, shopping for the elderly is a regular feature of neighborly support. Such concept is expressed in the series without sloganeering through the daily matters that we all struggle with. Therefore, it can be said that this series is the best among those made in recent years based on keeping up good neighborly relations.

A series that has a good place among the works of its director and apparently dates back to the time when Mohammad Hossein Latifi spent more time and attention making TV series.

This series, following the success of ‘The Magic Coat’, marked ‌ Latifi's second successful show on TV and clearly demonstrates that the director knew his audience well. In the meantime, the good screenplay of Hossein Pakdel definitely has a prominent and undeniable role - a type of screenplay that has a purpose behind each story and its narrative. Such purpose is narrated in the heat of the story so that it does not bore the audience to tears! This is one of the most obvious principles of screenwriting in our time, but it was not very common in television series made in the 1990s. Many works in those years, cannot draw the audience in this time and age as they chanted slogans so loudly that sometimes, even in the most emotional moments, they just made the present-day viewers laugh.

In this respect, ‘Neighbors’ is yet to be expired. This series had a new look and structure, and its dialogues and jokes were close to the common language of people, and there was less exaggerated camerawork, which is common these days. Therefore, watching the series on ifilm is enjoyable for those who are meeting the characters of ‘Neighbors’ for the first time, and it is also memorable and spectacular for its long-time audience.

A house, a community

In this series, despite the fact that we see several characters as the residents of a building, no one is left on the sidelines; Everyone has their own story and engages the audience in each episode, and at the same time, each person's story is tied to the next. People from different walks of life -  ranging from young to old, educated to uneducated, rich to poor - live next door to each other in the building, and therefore, watching this small community can be attractive for anyone ever has the chance to catch some or all of the series' episodes.

The casting for these characters was also great as one of the closest options that probably comes to everyone's mind is there on the small screen. Just look at the names of the series’ actors. The actors play their roles as they should be with no misfit.

Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia and Atefeh Razavi play an artist couple who lives together in a way quite different from the other residents of the building. Gohar Kheirandish, as always, conveys motherhood in the best way through her face and voice, and Amin Hayaee is a good young man whose love stories were an excuse for the younger audiences to follow this series eagerly.

Another couple is played by Kayhan Maleki and Flora Sam whose cultural differences have become more of the spice in their life than a nuisance. Ali Nasirian is also the wise man of the story - the owner of the house who makes a lot of changes with his presence in this building.

In the meantime, there is a different character along with the daily stories of the neighbors. He remains as a philosopher who is not a resident of the building but enters the adventures of the story as a good friend of Reza (played by Amin Hayaee).

Hossein Panahi is the one we always know in other works with the same special and attractive tone of speech, body language and expressions that, although different from other characters in the story, make his role sweet and spectacular.

We guess you are all ready for the next episode of 'Neighbor' after reading this review. Watch it now on ifilm website by clicking here. 

AG/AG