People’s Weekly World
Feb 2 2007
Beautiful films
Some of the world’s most beautiful humanist films have been made in a
country demonized by Western media. `Iran: A Cinematographic
Revolution’ is a penetrating study of the history of Iran, the
world’s first Islamic Republic, through the wondrous eye of the
camera.
Produced in France with succinct English narration and fascinating
interviews with prominent Iranian directors, the story begins with
the first Iranian film, made in 1933 by an Armenian, and it continues
through all the various Iranian regimes, some installed by the U.S.,
some not.
Certainly many of us are familiar with the historic revolution of
1979. That Islamic revolution attacked the decadent symbols of the
West, including the cinemas that had become known for screening
objectionable fare. Cinema suffered a major blow in Iran: 129
theaters were burned to the ground and for a few years the film
industry lay dormant.
Then one day the Ayatollah Khomeini happened to see an old film
called `The Cow’ on television. Somehow it didn’t contradict the
tenets of Islam as interpreted by the conservative regime. He said,
`We’re not against cinema, but what’s ungodly.’ With his blessing,
the new age of Iranian cinema was reborn.
And ironically it is this new cinema that has become the darling of
film festivals around the world. Names like Abbas Kiarostami and
Mohsen Makhmalbaf are recognized worldwide and their humanistic
films, which stress simplicity, children, Persian poetry, realism and
nonviolence, have won top honors.
Some 90,000 students have now graduated from the nascent Iranian Film
Institute, and they have created an art style unequalled in the world
today.
The all-consuming and destructive Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s did not
stop film production, but rather created films of immense urgency and
compassion, all within the new guidelines of society.
This documentary is an informative, entertaining tribute and
thoughtful examination of how positive cinema can develop in a
fundamentalist society. One director interviewed in the film refers
to the fact that after winning hundreds of awards worldwide, Iranian
filmmakers are acquiring a sort of `untouchable’ leverage over the
current government, which appears to be willing to gain the prestige
in exchange for a relaxation on censorship. In this sense Iranian
cinema is leading the regime to a more humanist approach.
If more Americans saw Iranian cinema, and appreciated its honesty and
simplicity, there would be a greater understanding of Iran today.
Two films shown at the Toronto International Film Festival were
chosen by their countries to contend for an Academy Award but did not
receive nominations. One of them, `Grbavica,’ named after a small
town in Bosnia, addresses the tragedy faced by women who were
tortured and raped in the recent war in that region.
Esma and her daughter Sara have an unusual relationship. Esma is
willing to overlook all the faults of her troubled 12-year-old child
while providing her with all the basic needs in life at great
personal expense. Esma walks hours to and from work just to make
enough money so her child can go on a school trip.
As the story develops, tragic secrets are revealed about how Sara
came into this world and the human drama gets more intense. Esma
attends gut-wrenching therapy sessions with real women who endured
the horrors of battle. Without revealing the powerful details of this
story, true for many women in Bosnia today, suffice it to say that
this film treats the issue with great respect and love. The acting is
intense and the direction convincing.
There are some films where the action and sets are so realistic that
you feel like you lived through the story. The people and places are
vivid and remain in your memory for a long time.
Paul Verhoeven (`Robocop,’ `Total Recall,’ `Basic Instinct’) returns
to his homeland to direct an action-packed suspenseful historical
drama about Jewish refugees in the Netherlands during World War II
called `Black Book.’
A young Jewish singer is constantly staying just one step ahead of
the advancing Germans. She eventually is recruited by the Resistance
and infiltrates the high offices of the German security police, the
same people who had her family slaughtered while they were trying to
leave.
The courage of the Resistance fighters and the townspeople who are
willing to hide the Jews are vividly portrayed, even as they deal
with betrayal, double agents and failed intelligence. A large and
remarkable cast, big budget and skilled direction make this a
thriller that is hard to forget.
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