A House Built on Water (2002): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2002, A House Built on Water is a notable film directed by Bahman Farmanara, running about 111 minutes. “The midlife crisis of a successful professional man is put into the perspective of eternity” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Director Bahman Farmanara's second film following a 20-year exile from his native Iran depicts the spiritual crisis of a middle-aged man. In the film's dreamlike opening scene, Dr. Reza Sepidbakht (Reza Kianian), a well-off Tehran gynecologist, thinks he runs over an angel while driving home at night with a call girl. The next morning at the hospital where he works, he is shown a comatose boy who is famous for having memorized the entire Koran. These two events cause him to rethink his cynical outlook on life and his relationships with his elderly father, wayward son, and the women he has mistreated since becoming estranged from his wife. When the boy awakens from his coma, Dr. Sepidbakht begins to look to him for answers.

Who’s in it. A House Built on Water stars Reza Kianian as Dr. Reza Sepidbakht, Hedie Tehrani as Jale Tirandaz, Ezzatollah Entezami as Dr. Sepidbakht's father and Jamshid Mashayekhi as Dr. Latifian, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.0/10, A House Built on Water has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch A House Built on Water page.