“All the characters and events in this film seem to be real, but it’s not true!” reads a disclaimer that appears right after the opening credits of Massoud Bakhshi’s wayward portrait of Tehran. By then, the director has already read aloud his letter to the chairman of the Iranian film fund, in voice-over, stating that he has not been able to complete his documentary on Tehran for various reasons—mostly, as he points out towards the end of his film, because making it would be a waste of time.

Instead, Bakhshi treats us to an intelligently edited musical compilation of all the archive footage he collected and the images he shot of the city over the past five years. Starting from the beautiful village it once was (where, according to an account from the 13th century, exceptionally delicious pomegranates grew), the film skips between the city’s past and present.

The journey takes us through various oppressors, collective opium addiction, the Tehran Conference and the Islamic Revolution to the explosive growth of the metropolis and the current transportation problem. What makes Tehran stand out today? Being on top of the list of most polluted cities in the world.