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| Still Life |
Tabi'at-e Bijan (Still Life). 1974. Iran. Written and directed by Sohrab Shahid Saless. With Zadour Bonyadi, Mohammed Kani, Hedayatollah Navid. 93 min.
An elderly railway signalman is unable to understand the meaning of “retirement” when he is handed over his retirement letter. Still Life, the film that shook Iranian cinema to its core and won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale, is an unforgettable, masterfully paced exercise in stillness and loneliness that doesn’t shrink from depicting exploitative tendencies within contemporary Iranian society. Shahid Saless uses the inarticulacy of his protagonist as an aesthetic strategy and finds poetry in seemingly dead moments. Made only in 11 days and shot with the painterly vision of the cinematographer Houshang Baharlou, this landmark work pushed the boundaries of cinema like no other Iranian film of the 1970s. – Ehsan Khoshbakht
Dear Mr. Khoshbakht, My name is Mandana Zandian, and I am currently involved in a research study about the “Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Iran” (Kanun). I was hoping to have a brief conversation with you regarding Ms. Lily Amirarjomand’s recognition as one of the 100 hidden heroes of Cinema by “Sight and Sound.” Obviously your comments will be credited in the book.
ReplyDeleteWith much respect and great appreciation.
Here is my email address: mandanazandian@gmail.com