Ali Mohammed teaches German in Iran, his native country, and he tries to be a faithful Muslim: he is certainly devout. He has flown to Vienna from Iran with his sister and his son and must wait there until he gets a visa to visit the U.S., which was his planned destination. He has put the family up at a hotel for immigrants and is horrified to see the immoral influence this setting has on his son and sister. In the first place, the hotel is directly across from a brothel, and his son begins to hang out with the establishment's women. Their influence leads him to get involved with some local cut-ups; joining them in a prank, he is arrested. Meanwhile, the teacher's hitherto modest sister is happily being wooed by a Polish man and is behaving more like a Western woman every day. On top of that, his landlady is trying to put the make on him. By the time he has adapted to all these situations, the idea of relocating to the U.S. has become much less appealing to him.
by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
