Amos Vogel on Postchi

Amos Vogel on Dariush Mehrjui's Postchi [Postman, Iran, 1971]:

"[Mehrjui's] successful fusing of pathos, humor, and preoccupation with the poor resembles nothing less than Chaplin or early De Sica in its ferocity. In his earlier The Cow, the only owner of such a precious animal in a poverty-stricken village goes insane over its loss and assumes its place; berserk, he is put into a harness, is dragged off to a nearby hospital, beaten like an animal, and finally dies the death of a beast in a mudhole. The Mailman is an unforgettable Woyzeck-like figure, the eternal simple-minded victim who finally rises to mistaken grandeur in a murderous gesture that leaves him braying with despair over the body of his victim. Since such films can never be popular, they are living proof of the fact that box-office returns must not be allowed to determine the life of a work of art."

Source: Film as a Subversive Art