Louis Vuitton bag.

Probably a fake one made in China.

It was most likely fake. But Iranians invest a lot of money in their appearance and clothing so it's not implausible that she saved up to buy the bag.

Iran has consumerism and fashion trends just like any other country. Tehran in particular is a huge city filled with shoppings centres that sell "western" style clothing, perfumes, etc. You should really re-evaluate your perspective of the world and start taking the supposed "East-West divide" with a pinch of salt. Humans are humans, and they're all attracted to pretty things and popular trends; there's nothing morally questionable about Elly's choice of bag. There isn't a traditional Iranian bag industry that Iranian morality dictates she should support. It's just a bag.

The idea of the bag acting as a symbol for an abandonment of Persian values may hold some merit, but I don't think Farhadi is using it to cast Elly in a bad light. I think he shows Elly a lot of sympathy with this film, in fact I'd probably call him a feminist director by any standards (but certainly by Persian ones) given the strong and complex portrayals of women in all his films.

Just a bag. nothing more. Tehran shops are full of these brands. fake ones and real ones. fake ones may have a 20'000-30'000 Toman (15-25$) price and that is a normal price for a bag.

yeah. caught my attention too at first sight.
but you'll be surprised what people go through in Iran so they can keep up with the fashion trend. Its insane. In some aspects its more than states. so I would't be surprised if it wasn't fake.

P.S: I'm from Iran. so I'm not just making this up. I know how people are.



Put your trust in God.Your ass belongs to me.

The moment I saw it I thought it was a replica.
But then I had the impression that these guys were pretty well off and Elly's fiancee could have got her one as a gift.

Could be fake. Maybe it was real. Doesn't really matter to the plot.




Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down and a Wagging Finger of Shame

I have a theory, but only having watched the film once, might be off:

About Elly is about a somewhat innocent, naive school teacher, who is seduced by the dream of life in "the west"... (In this context, the LV bag can be seen as a symbol of that infatuation... Even the name Elly, is a westernized version of a more traditional Iranian name, like Elham, etc. which the authorities point out).). Fake or not this bag is a symbol of Elly's (by extension many Iranian women's) infatuation with a better life offered outside her home country. Sepideh, the most manipulative character in the movie, knows something she's holding back the whole film... More than she ever lets out.

Namely, that she may just have tricked the innocent Elly with the idea that her friend Ahmad, here for a quick visit from Germany, could be her ticket out of her (and all women's) miserable life in Iran. This becomes increasingly clear to Elly as everyone seems to be in on this joke, except for her. Even the local villagers bring Elly and Ahmad a single bed to share with the notion that Elly and Ahmad are newly-weds.

The day after, what must be presumed a night on that bed together, when Elly wakes up to the reality that she needs to go home, she then finds out that Sepideh isn't going to let that happen.. "This is good for you," Sepideh says, By which Sepideh might really be saying, "it's too late girl, enjoy the ride with my buddy Ahmad, and you'll be home to your miserable life soon enough." Also, Ahmad is definitely not stepping up to proposing marriage anytime soon... After joking the previous night that he will let with his friend decide whether he should get serious with her, after the weekend, we never see him in another scene with Elly again (as far as I can remember). Hardly what innocent Elly would have hoped.

Then, the amazing kite scene... This to me is the key to the whole movie... Elly, runs with the kite, working herself to an ecstatic state. We truly sense her feeling of joy and freedom in that fleeting scene. But closer inspection shows her running, first to the right, then back to the left, ending up finally in the same damned place she started. She abruptly stops, as if she suddenly realizes the futility of her flight of fancy, and rather sternly instructs the little girl to hold this (dream)... "I've gt to leave now."

I couldn't think of a better and more clear metaphor for Elly's false hopes of flying away from Iran-Zamin (the fatherland), than a kite on a string, that will ultimately fall right down on that same land... The same land that the rest of the troop is stuck in at the end, pushing to get their car (mode of transport) unstuck from.

So, it seems at that moment, Elly realizes, the only way to "leave this place" is by ending her life. And so, feeling terrible about what she's done (cheated on her fiancé, not much hope of a better life), she plunges to her death.

These ideas / theory is reinforced for me when her fiancé shows up and meets the Sepideh and Ahmad in a regular Iraian car, while they drive a western "Patrol." He's just an ordinary real Iranian guy... Unable to keep up with this hot rival "dream" from the West. It's never clear that he was the demon that Sepideh made him out to be. In fact, Sepideh is the only one who says that Elly is not happy with him.,. Elly may well have been content, but gotten seduced by Sepideh's promises of handsome looking "Ahmad of Germany."

In the end, the fiancé is left looking in the rearview at that damned LV bag, a symbolic reminder of his beloved Elly's fatal attraction to the West. It's also telling that when Sepideh tells the fiancé Elly's name, he looks at her like: "Is that what she said her name was?." Instead of the more real, authentic Persian alternative, like Elham. A non-westernized Iranian man would find it very pretentious to use a westernized version of your name like that with strangers.

Anyway, that's my take on my first viewing of this excellent movie by Farhadi; would love to hear what others think of this idea.

I thought it fit right in with the Mercedes, Peugeot and fancy SUV (not sure make) they were driving. I figured were affluent young professionals on holiday.