Plastic surgery is a field that to some can seem trivial and entirely elective, but changing a person’s appearance or correcting what they perceive to be a major flaw can mean everything to them. Stigmas can exist both about those who get plastic surgery and those who don’t, and it’s fascinating to learn and understand why people are motivated to walk into a plastic surgeon’s office for a consultation to communicate what they would like done and what response they receive from someone who has likely heard it all before. This phenomenon is even more interesting in a place like Iran, where modesty laws mean that m, for many potential recipients of plastic surgery, visible areas will remain quite limited.
In Tehran, Under the Skin, filmmaker Afsaneh Salari explores the state of cosmetic surgery in Tehran, following two doctors, one female and one male, as they greet a sea of eager and concerned patients who want to know if their desires can come true and they’re legitimate candidates for the procedures they want. Some choose not to appear on camera, not happy about how they look or how they may be judged by others for coming in to inquire about work. Others freely share what has brought them in and speak with others in the waiting room about societal conventions and pressures and how they feel this might be a way to make everything considerably better.
Most films made about Iran in recent years have dealt extensively with the oppressive regime and the protest movements that have galvanized many in the country despite fear of retribution for speaking out. This film exists in an intriguing space since this is a field that appears to function without much censorship or oversight, but, as indicated by some who come to see these doctors, cultural dynamics surely shape their concepts of both beauty and modesty. One woman surprises others around her when she shares that she’s able to wear a revealing swimsuit at one particular beach in Iran where a drive for tourism has led to a considerable relaxation of restrictions that doesn’t match the state of the rest of the country. For the rest, their standards of beauty include the hijab and focus instead on other features that may still distinguish them even with more covered bodies. There are also male patients with their own issues and preoccupations that drive them to pursue this type of remedy.
It should hardly be startling that there is a difference in how these two doctors handle and communicate with their patients influenced heavily by their genders. The male doctor is blunt and direct, telling one woman that she’s morbidly obese based on her body mass index and asking if she understands both what that means and the increased risks associated with it should she choose to undergo surgery. He’s not meaning to be cruel or insulting, but instead to cut through any small talk that might indicate that he’s merely aiming to do whatever she wants rather than to fully consider the implications and possibilities of doing any work. The female doctor has steeled herself after rising in a male-dominated industry, and her most frequent response to inquiring patients is that she can’t fix what they’re looking to correct and they should be pleased with what they already have.
This film touches on the transforming nature of a country that went through a momentous and consequential regime change decades ago and may be primed for another in the coming years. But these people are not the ones who are worried about imprisonment should they speak out, perhaps guarded only by a desire for privacy and self-protection rather than a genuine fear for their lives. Regardless, it’s an eye-opening subject and a well-made film that speaks volumes about how people see themselves, especially in a place where certain features end up being embellished as others are hidden from view.
Movie Rating: 7/10
Tehran, Under the Skin makes its world premiere in the TIFF Docs section at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
