3/5 starsSet against the backdrop of recent protests and looming war, Ali Asgari’s on-the-nose drama illuminates the grim reality of everyday life in modern Iran.Receiving its world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, A Bit of Light is Ali Asgari’s sixth feature film and comes after 2025’s Divine Comedy. He co-wrote the screenplay of his latest film with Shadmehr Rastin, who previously collaborated with Jafar Panahi on the Cannes-winning It Was Just an Accident.Set in Tehran, A Bit of Light opens in the wake of nationwide protests against the Iranian government in December 2025 over mounting economic hardship. The shadow of war looms as “this Trump guy” threatens to bomb the country, prompting residents to stick gaffer tape in an “X” shape over their windows to prevent the glass from shattering.At times, Asgari flirts with black comedy. “War is a very strange thing; it gives you crazy ideas,” one character remarks, adding that he would not mind a missile striking his old house if it meant saving on demolition costs.At the centre of the narrative is Arash (The Seed of the Sacred Fig’s Missagh Zareh), a kindly doctor who has reached the end of the road. After he treated wounded demonstrators, he saw his practice shut down and ransacked, while his medical licence was revoked.