Persian Lessons backdrop
WAR . 2020 . 2h 7m . German . 7.5/10

Persian Lessons_

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch.

Starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger, Jonas Nay
Box Office $3.8M
7.5/10
Rating
$3.8M
Box Office
2h 7m
Runtime
2020
Year
Updated Feb 16, 2026
Persian Lessons poster

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch.

WHERE TO WATCH

Rakuten TV R Rakuten TV 7 countries
Prime Video P Prime Video 3 countries
Filmin F Filmin 1 country
Netflix N Netflix 1 country
ALL REGIONS

DROPTHE_ GOSSIP

Cast
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart stars as Gilles in Persian Lessons.
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart →
Year context
Persian Lessons was released 6 years ago in 2020.
Overview
Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing ...
Persian Lessons is a War, Drama film with a runtime of 2h 7m.

CAST (20)

Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
Gilles
Lars Eidinger
Lars Eidinger
Klaus Koch
Jonas Nay
Jonas Nay
Max
Leonie Benesch
Leonie Benesch
Elsa
Alexander Beyer
Alexander Beyer
Camp Commander
David Schütter
David Schütter
Paul
Luisa-Céline Gaffron
Luisa-Céline Gaffron
Yana
Andreas Hofer
Andreas Hofer
Adjutant von Dewitz
Giuseppe Schillaci
Giuseppe Schillaci
Marco Rossi
Antonin Chalon
Antonin Chalon
Jacob Rossi
Lola Bessis
Lola Bessis
Melanie
Mehdi Rahim-Silvioli
Mehdi Rahim-Silvioli
Nathan
Sofya Gershevich
Sofya Gershevich
Melanie
Nico Ehrenteit
Nico Ehrenteit
Obersturmführer Krupp
Gareth McGregor
Gareth McGregor
US Army Officer
Marcus Calvin
Marcus Calvin
American Investigator
Peter Beck
Peter Beck
Nazi Doctor
Felix von Bredow
Felix von Bredow
SS-Untersturmführer Siemens
Oleg Veber
Oleg Veber
German soldier
Svetlana Anikey
Svetlana Anikey
SS German Girl 1

BOX OFFICE

$3.8M
Revenue

DETAILS

Release
Status
Released
Runtime
127 min (2h 7m)
Language
German
Country
Rating
7.5/10 (468 votes)
Popularity
2
Box Office
$3,825,668

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Persian Lessons about?
Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch.
How long is Persian Lessons?
Persian Lessons has a runtime of 127 minutes (2h 7m).
Who stars in Persian Lessons?
The cast of Persian Lessons includes Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger, Jonas Nay, Leonie Benesch, Alexander Beyer.
How much did Persian Lessons make at the box office?
Persian Lessons earned $3,825,668 worldwide at the box office.
What is the rating of Persian Lessons?
Persian Lessons has a rating of 7.5 out of 10 based on 468 votes on TMDB.

GENRES (2)

War Drama
SHARE