An exploration of the intimate workings of Iranian society is often made in cinema through the eyes of children. Parvis Shahbazi takes a look at Tehran's underside through the saga of three homeless children seeking an adult who will pose as their guardian for a day. Three enterprising young siblings, two boys and a girl, survive on the fringes of the city's commerce by selling lemonade or prayer cards, making deliveries for shopkeepers, and begging food or small amounts of money where they can. The story revolves around the urgent desire of the elder brother to arrange a required ritual circumcision for the younger, and his repeated attempts to engage, even bribe, one of the many adults of their daily acquaintance to briefly act in a parental role to authorities. The resulting eye-opening view of the world of grown-ups lends Whispers a sharp poignancy.-Barbara Scharres