"Iranians Get the Last Laugh After Clerics Ban a Comedy," by Karl Vick, Washington Post, 14 July, p. A12.

Funny movie packs 'em in, Tehran: criminal escapes jail by dressing as cleric and then is forced into hilarious fish-outta-water situations out in the real world. "The Lizard" became a cultural phenomenon in Iran, so naturally the mullahs had to shut it down. But here's the info age problem: too many boot-leg videos are already out and about.

Here's the great analysis of the piece:

In 1979, while imposing a severe interpretation of the Koran, the mullahs shuttered every one of Tehran's 74 movie theaters. Today, visitors are directed to black-and-white snapshots of each of them in the Film Museum of Iran, a converted palace that honors the country's widely acclaimed directors, including those whose most famous works are banned here.

The contradictions reflect a shifting reality. After a seven-year effort at reform failed to wrest decisive power from unelected clerics, the population of 70 million has largely retreated, leaving politics to hard-liners yet withholding the legitimacy the conservatives crave.

That is a perfect description of the late Brezhnev period in the now-defunct Soviet Union. Waiting for Gorbachev is the name of the game now, and Khatami does not seem to be the man.