A Dragon Arrives! (2016) Spoiler-Free Summary – What It's About

On January 22, 1965, the day before a pivotal moment in Iranian history, a mystery begins to unfold at the site of a shipwreck. A car arrives carrying the body of a political prisoner who has reportedly taken his own life, yet the walls of the vehicle are scrawled with cryptic diary entries and strange symbols that suggest a far more complex story. This enigmatic scene sets the stage for a narrative that challenges the boundaries between documentary and fiction, presented through the lens of evidence discovered fifty years later.

Tasked with uncovering the truth, a SAVAK agent named Javad Charaki travels to the island to investigate the circumstances of the death. He is aided in his pursuit by two friends: a geologist, Behnam Shokoohi, and a sound engineer, Keyvan Haddad. Together, this unlikely trio navigates a landscape where political duty and personal curiosity intersect, forming a bond that will be tested by the unique and oppressive atmosphere of the era. Their investigation is not merely a procedural matter but a descent into the unknown, requiring their combined skills to interpret the signs left behind.

The island of Qeshm looms as a character in its own right, steeped in local folklore that speaks of a dragon living beneath an ancient cemetery. This myth seems to manifest in physical tremors that shake the ground after every burial, creating an environment where superstition and reality blur. As the investigators delve deeper into the island’s secrets, they find themselves caught in a web of intrigue where the pursuit of truth is fraught with unseen dangers and the cost of knowledge may be higher than they anticipated.