The first narrative feature by Nasser Refaie, The Exam depicts the anxious present and hopes for the future of hundreds of women getting ready to take a college-entry exam. Young and old, rich and poor, they wait patiently for the test, pacing around a packed courtyard, herded by a loudspeaker's disembodied voice, and killing time the way most people in college films do: picking on nerds, furtively smoking bootleg cigarettes, and ogling boys. But unlike characters in such genre films, they also deal with indignant husbands or fathers-even mothers-who consider female schooling either unnecessary or threatening. Masterfully flowing from one group to another, Refaie orchestrates the women's comments and complaints to expose contemporary Iranian debates on such topics as modernity versus tradition, the equality of the sexes, and most of all, the idea that education will make a difference in life.