Willow and Wind, an Overlooked Gem Scripted by Abbas Kiarostami

Willow and Wind

Willow trees bend easily in the slightest breeze, but even the wildest wind cannot uproot them. That is, more or less, the story of children in Mohammad Ali Talebi’s cinema; they are affected by every turn, every event, each nuance of the adult world, but they never fall down or stop fighting.

Willow and Wind is Talebi’s greatest cinematic achievement, both in terms of narrative and visual style. It tells an amazingly simple, sometimes absurd story. Like a Persian miniature, it is expressed through fine details. It depicts the efforts of a young boy to carry a large piece of glass some distance across country, to reach the school where he has broken a window during a football match. He’s not allowed back into class until he mends it.

The Night It Rained (Kamran Shirdel, 1967)

From my Iranian New Wave programme notes, Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna, 2015. The world premiere of the restored version (2K). -- EK

PS: Playing in London on March 16, 2018. [+]


OON SHAB KE BAROON OOMAD YA HEMASE-YE ROOSTA ZADE-YE GORGANI
Iran, 1967 Regia: Kamran Shirdel
T. int.: The Night It Rained or the Epic of the Gorgan Village Boy. Scen.: Esmaeel Noori Ala, Kamran Shirdel. F.: Naghi Maasoumi. M.: Fatemeh Dorostian. Int.: Nosratollah Karimi (narrator/interviewer). Prod.: The Ministry of Culture.

Shirdel and cameraman Naghi Maasoumi on the set

This satirical documentary film offers a crash course in 1960s Iran. A newspaper story of a heroic village boy who prevented a train disaster appears and spreads quickly. The incident, reported on and challenged by local officials and journalists, is soon doubted and leads ultimately to confusion, with nobody knowing exactly who has saved whom.

A Simple Event (Sohrab Shahid Saless, 1973)

Update: Playing at GOETHE-INSTITUT LONDON on November 9, 2017, 7 PM.

From my Iranian New Wave programme notes, Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna, 2015. -- EK

YEK ETTEFAGH-E SADEH
Iran, 1973 Regia: Sohrab Shahid Saless
T. int.: A Simple Event. Scen.: Sohrab Shahid Saless (uncredited), Omid Rouhani (uncredited). F.: Naghi Maasoumi. M.: Kazem Rajinia. Int.: Mohammad Zamani, Anne Mohammad Tarikhi, Habibullah Safarian, Hedayatullah Navid, Majid Baghaie. Prod.: Sazman-e Cinemaie Keshvar.

A few days in the life of a young boy living by the Caspian Sea. At school he is falling behind his classmates and almost expelled. He helps his father to fish illegally, and at home watches as his mother’s health deteriorates.

original poster

Sohrab Shahid Saless’s debut feature was made clandestinely with the budget and crew assigned to him for a short film by the government-run Sazman-e Cinemaie Keshvar, for whom he had previously made around 20, mostly uncredited shorts. The film was shot in Bandar Shah. Saless, who admired Chekov, chose the location for its “Russian-looking” atmosphere and the fact that it was at the end of the railroad – at a dead end, like the lives of his characters. Mohammad Zamani, who had never been to a cinema, plays the young boy and one can feel the weight of the world on his frail shoulders. Mysteriously quiet and empty, the film’s characters are apparently devoid of any feeling, yet still capable of making an enormous emotional impact on the audience.

Strike [Zarbat] (Samuel Khachikian, 1964)

Bootimar (left) and Jalal in Zarbat

Zarbat
Iran, 1964, Director: Samuel Khachikian

International title: Strike. Script: Samuel Khachikian (uncredited). DoP.: Ghodratollah Ehsani. Editing: Samuel Khachikian. Art director: Hassan Paknejad, Ali Delpazir. Music.: Samuel Khachikian (selection). Cast: Arman (Jamal), Abdollah Bootimar (Dr. Kourosh Imen), Ghodsi Kashani (Shirin), Farzaneh Kazemi (Mozhgan), Jamsheed Tatar (Hossein Aghai), Reza Beik Imanverdi (Reza the Madman). Production.: Azhir Film Studio

The premiere of the film in Tehran

One of Khachikian’s most morbid thrillers, Zarbat actually begins as a melodrama – and a rather tedious one at that – in which most of Iranian cinema’s clichés of class conflict are introduced. Almost halfway into the film, however, Khachikian shifts to a meticulously designed spectacle of terror, as if in revenge for the preceding drama. Characters move into a dark territory of murder and mistaken identities. As in some of Khachikian’s other works, the setting of an ordinary house becomes a site of peril and a stage for perverse pleasures, as the director plays with filmic elements to the point of abstraction. Khachikian explains this as his attempt, after the 1950s, to “revive the alphabet of film” in Iranian cinema: “I wanted to save Iranian cinema from roohozi [a popular and vulgar form of theatre]. From the first day onwards, it wasn't the message or the content that I was concerned with. What I wanted was a precise cinema: action, correct editing, lighting and so on.”

Anxiety [Delhoreh] (Samuel Khachikian, 1962)

Bootimar in Anxiety [aka Horror]

Playing on June 24, 16:15 at Cine Jolly, Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna

Delhoreh
Iran, 1962, Dir: Samuel Khachikian

Int. title.: Horror. Alt. title: Anxiety. Script.: Samuel Khachikian (uncredited). Cinematographer.: Ghodratollah Ehsani. Editing: Samuel Khachikian. Art director.: Hassan Paknejad. Music.: Samuel and Soorik Khachikian (selection). Cast.: Irene (Roshanak Niknejad), Abdollah Bootimar (Behrooz Niknejad), Arman (Jamsheed), Shandermani (Babak), Haleh (Fetneh), Reza Beik Imanverdi (killer with knife). Prod.: Azhir Film Studio

Newspaper ad anouncing the screening of the film in three Tehran cinemas

On Neil Young Journeys

بازنشر به یاد جاناتان دمی (2017-1944)


سفرهاي نيل يانگ (2011)

كارگردان: جاناتان دمي؛ فيلم‌بردار: دِكلان كويين؛ تدوين: گِلن آلن؛ با حضور: نيل يانگ.

87 دقيقه، رنگي.

آن‌قدر تعداد فيلم‌هاي ساخته شده دربارۀ نيل يانگ، ظرف دو سه سال اخير زياد بوده كه حسابشان از دست در رفته: Don't Be Denied (2009) مستندي بود معمولي براي همان مجموعه‌اي كه اسكورسيزي مستند باب ديلن را ساخت، با اين تفاوت كه فيلم يانگ به سرعت فراموش شد؛ در همان سال جاناتان دمي تور الكتريك نيل يانگ را موضوع فيلمِ طولاني و طوفانيِ Trunk Show قرار داد؛ سال بعد، آلبومِ عاليِ سولو و الكتريكِ Le Noise به فيلمي چهل دقيقه‌اي كه در ويلايي قديمي و فاخر در لوس‌آنجلس فيلم‌برداري شده بود تبديل شد و حالا چهارمين همكاري جاناتان دمي و يانگ (پس از نشست‌هاي پيچيده، 1994؛ هارت آف گولد، 2006؛ Trunk Show) در فيلمي كه از همۀ مستندهاي يادشده بهتر از كار درآمده.

عمداً گفتم «درآمده» چون رابطۀ دِمي و يانگ (به عنوان فيلم‌ساز و سوژه) بيش‌تر تصادفي و موكول به لحظه به نظر مي‌رسد تا رابطه‌اي حساب‌شده و داراي ساختاري از قبلْ معلوم، مثلِ كاري كه دِمي براي گروه «تاكينگ هِدز» در Stop Making Sense (1984) كرد. دِمي در اين سال‌ها بيش‌تر به نوعي ويدئوگرافِر يانگ تبديل شده و اين فيلم‌ها درست مثل اينند كه دوستي، دوستِ ديگر را با دوربين كوچكي همراهي مي‌كند و شنوندۀ خوبي است براي قصه‌هايش و ترانه‌هايش. اما همه جا كار محدود به همراهي و ثبت لحظه نمي‌شود، جاهايي هست كه دمي گناه مي‌داند اگر شور غريبِ نيل يانگِ 66 ساله را در هنگامِ اجراي آهنگِ «اوهايو» محدود به گرفتن دوربين جلوي مرد و گيتارش كند. دِمي، همان‌طور كه انگار يانگ دارد دوباره آهنگ را روي صحنه از نو مي‌نويسد، دوربين‌ها را براي كنكاش در صورت يانگ و كاويدن احساساتش مثل ميكروسكوپ به كار مي‌برد. واقعيت اين است كه يانگ در بخش‌هاي كيارستمي‌وارِ پشت فرمانِ كاديلاكِ قديمي‌اش – كه با سوخت بيوديزل، نوعي روغن گياهي، كار مي‌كند– وقتي از كودكي‌اش حرف مي‌زند پيرمردي است شوخ و ساده كه از كلمه‌هاي محدودي براي ابراز علاقه‌اش به چيزهايي كه دوست دارد استفاده مي‌كند، اما همين مرد، يا دقيق‌ترْ صورت او، روي صحنه تغييري مي‌كند از زمين تا آسمان. جدي و تلخ مي‌شود. چشم‌هايش بسته مي‌ماند. سرش را به ندرت بالا مي‌گيرد. حركاتش به رقصي مثل رقص سرخپوستان در مراسمي مقدس مي‌ماند. به محض اين‌كه گيتارش به برق زده مي‌شود، سيم ارتباطش با دنياي بيرون قطع مي‌شود. بيراه نيست كه نمايي از تماشاگران در فيلم وجود ندارد.

Cinema, the Other Side of Hope: Berlinale 2017

نگاه اول به پانزده فیلم دورۀ شصت و هفتم فستیوال فیلم برلین، بهمن 2017

سینما، آن‌سوی امید

احسان خوش‌بخت

سرمای منهای دو درجه، زامبی‌های معتاد به موبایل، قهوه‌های مجانی، صف‌های چندبار تاب خورده، پل ورهوفن سرمست از موفقیت‌های او در رأس هیأت داوران، ازدحام کلاس‌ها و جلسات و میزگردها به بهانۀ سینما، در حالی که خود سینما فقط مسأله‌ای ثانوی شده است. بین این‌ها سهم من از بخش رقابتی و شبه رقابتی برلیناله پانزده فیلم بود (چیزی همین تعداد در بخش رتروسپکتیو، خود موضوع مقاله دیگری خواهد شد). روابط بین زوج‌ها، یا بین والدین و فرزندان یا بین آدم‌هایی از دو فرهنگ متفاوت مضمون اصلی بیش‌تر فیلم‌های بخش مسابقه در این دوره بود. فیلم‌ها، مثل سینمای امروز، کوچک بودند، و بهتر بود بیننده اصرار بر دیدن شاهکار را در اتاق امانات سینما به امانت می‌گذاشت.

خارج از مسابقه

اکسیدنتال [Occidental] (نیل بلوفا): متعلق به آن مدل سینمایی آشنایی که دنیای معاصرشان را با یک هتل مقایسه می‌کنند و یا دقیق‌تر متعلق به کلیشه «هتلی در اروپا به عنوان اروپا» (نمونه دیگر، پارسال در برلیناله: مرگ در سارایووی دنیس تانوویچ)، که اثری کوچک، نسبتاً سرگرم کننده، اما در نهایت خام و بی‌ثمر که این استعاره را بدون هیچ اضافاتی به کار می‌برد و بعد سعی می‌کند با لکنت زبان مسائلی مثل اعتراض‌های اجتماعی، تبعیض و تعصب نژادی و قومی و این سوء‌ظنِ به غریبه و ناآشنا که زیر پوست اروپا رفته را در قالبی تصویر کند که در بهترین حالت به تلویزیونی می‌ماند و در بدترین حالت به اینترنتی.

Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)

كيت ريچاردز: تحت نفوذ (2015)

كارگردان: مورگان نويل

پير شدن و احتضار سينما چند درس براي ما داشته است. يكي از آن‌ها اين است كه در سينما اگر شخصيتي حرف زدن بلد است – و منظورم اين است كه واقعاً بلد باشد – بگذار حرف بزند. فيلم مي‌تواند روي همين جذابيت يك‌بعدي پيش برود. از اين قاعده، كلود لانزمان (آخرين نامحق)، مارتين اسكورسيزي (خطابه)، شرلي كلارك (پرترۀ جيسن) و پرويز كيمياوي (پ مثل پليكان) به خوبي باخبرند.

فيلم‌هاي مبتني بر گفتگو، زبان و شيوه‌هاي بياني غيرقراردادي، به خصوص وقتي محور اصلي فقط يك شخصيت است فيلم را به نحو مطبوعي به ادبيات نزديك مي‌كند؛ انگار كسي دارد براي شما كتاب مي‌خواند و تصاوير بايد هم‌زمان با ديدن فيلم در ذهن ساخته شود. اما مسلم است كه در اين فيلم‌ها فقط صدا نيست كه به كار مي‌آيد. تصوير هم حضور دارند و منطق توالي‌ا‌ش بر اساس نيروي روايت كلام و براي تأكيد يا تكذيب آن است. اين‌جاست كه سينما و ادبيات وارد مناظره مي‌شوند.

مستند كيت ريچاردز: تحت نفوذ، تهيه شده توسط Netflix، شايد از نظر سينمايي فيلم مهمي نباشد (كه نيست) اما همانطور كه اسمش نويد مي‌دهد گيتاريست، خوانندۀ دوم، و هر از گاه نوازندۀ گيتار باس گروه رولينگ استونز را سوژۀ فيلم قرار داده. در لكنتِ مطبوع‌ ريچاردز، بيننده، صداي شيواي ديوانگي براي راك اندرول را مي‌شنود. ريچاردز، مثل نمونه‌هاي ديگري از داستان‌گويان بالا – به خصوص آقا سيد علي ميرزا -  تركيبي ايده‌آل براي دوربين دارد: صداي بلوزي‌اش را شصت سال سيگار مثل صفحه‌اي قديمي خش‌دار كرده و چشم‌هايش به چشم شيطانِ بازنشسته‌اي مي‌ماند كه مثل تيلۀ بچه‌ها برقي از اميد مي‌زند.

Brick and Mirror (Ebrahim Golestan, 1963-64)

Written for the catalogue of Il Cinema Ritrovato, published in June 2016. RIP Ebrahim Golestan (1922 – 2023)


KHESHT O AYENEH
Iran, 1963-64, Directed by: Ebrahim Golestan

International title.: Brick and Mirror. Alternative international title.: Mudbrick and Mirror. Screenplay.: Ebrahim Golestan. DoP.: Soleiman Minassian. Edit.: Ebrahim Golestan. Cast.: Zackaria Hashemi (Hashem), Taji Ahmadi (Taji), Jalal Moghadam (verbose man in the cafe), Masoud Faghih (pistachio-eating man in the cafe), Parviz Fannizadeh (gay man in the cafe), Manouchehr Farid (the policeman), Mohammad Ali Keshavarz (the mugged doctor), Jamshid Mashayekhi (policeman with broken arm), Mehri Mehrnia (the madwoman in the ruins), Pari Saberi (the nurse), Akbar Meshkin (the man in the court and on TV), Forough Farrokhzad (taxi passenger). Production.: Golestan Film Studio.

[The film is also known as The Brick and the Mirror which is clearly wrong as here brick and mirror are abstract concepts and the combination of them produces a different meaning, as in cat and mouse. Another incorrect way of calling the film is Khesht va ayeneh. Avoid both!]

World premiere: 1964
Iranian premiere: 1966

[The year of production given in filmographies and books, 1965, is not correct.]

***

Iranian cinema’s first true modern masterpiece, Brick and Mirror explores fear and responsibility in the aftermath of the Coup.

With its title alluding to a poem by Attar ("What the old can see in a mudbrick/youth can see in a mirror."), Golestan's first feature mixes dream and reality, responding to the changing climate of Iranian society, the failure of intellectuals and corruption in all walks of life. In a rare use of direct sound in the Iranian cinema of the 60s, with minute attention given to environmental sound (emphasised by the lack of score) which complements the claustrophobic use of widescreen.

Miniatures in Motion: Stan Brakhage and Iran

IRAN IN COLOR DREAMS AND VISIONS OF STAN BRAKHAGE

How can we approach Stan Brakhage’s world? Shall we return to his inspiration drawn from the poets of San Francisco and the New York experimental filmmakers of the 1950s? Should we consider his inadequate filmmaking facilities which shrank every year, eventually reducing him to scratching negatives with his fingernails on the hospital bed at the end of his life? Besides all his sources of inspiration, from Eisenstein and Dreyer to Gertrud Stein and Rilke, I intend to examine rather an obscure source material for 18 short films of Brakhage, which most probably hasn’t been taken into consideration yet: Iran and its classical arts.

These 18 short films, called Persians, and made between 1999 to 2001, are among his last films, and based on years of studying Iran’s art and culture. They have been made by the methods of painting and scratching on the film strip; the method Brakhage first employed in Dog Star Man (1961).

The Persians is like a voyage through the architecture, miniature, calligraphy and that unique inner rhythm of Iranian culture in dynamic and spontaneous abstract forms. All of these elements have been intently studied by Brakhage, therefore watching them is a cinematic meditation entering a time-machine of hundreds of years of Iranian culture.

Fuocoammare (2016)

دِريا موجه كاكا

احسان خوش‌بخت

آتش در دريا را فقط يك‌بار و در وسط ماراتوني از فيلم‌هاي برليناله ديدم، بنابراين چندان منصفانه نيست كه اين نوشته را «نقد فيلم» ناميد. اجازه بدهيد به اين قناعت كنيم كه اين متن مختصر را برداشت‌هاي اوليه از فيلم درخشان جيانفرانكو روسي، و اگر مقدور بود دعوتي به دنياي يكي از بزرگ‌ترين مستندسازان امروز بخوانيم.

آتش در دريا كه براي اولين بار در فستيوال فيلم برلين به نمايش درآمد و خرس طلايي را از آن خود كرد يادآور موازنۀ حساب شدۀ فستيوال بين تعهد سياسي و نوآوري سينمايي است. برليناله فستيوالي سياسي است و در اين شكي نيست. اما اين سينماست كه به عنوان ابزار سياسي – چه لنين آن را فهميده بود و چه از درك آن غافل مانده بود – توسط خالقان اين هنر به كار گرفته مي‌شود و هنر برليناله، برخلاف فستيوال‌هاي بزرگ ديگر، در اين جاست كه اين پتانسيل و ضرورت را به رسميت مي‌شناسد. ما سينمادوستان هم اين ويژگي انقلابي برلين را دوست داريم، منتهي ظاهراً تا زماني كه جايزه اول به فيلمي از كشور خودمان داده نشود.

The Cow (Dariush Mehrjui, 1969) | Il Cinema Ritrovato

GAAV (The Cow)
Iran, 1969 Regia: Dariush Mehrjui
T. int.: The Cow. Sog.: Azadaran-e Bayal [Gholam-Hossein Saedi]. Scen.: Dariush Mehrjui. F.: Fereydon Ghovanlou. M.: Dariush Mehrjui. Mus.: Hormouz Farhat. Int.: Ezzatolah Entezami (Mash Hassan), Mahin Shahabi (Hassan's wife), Ali Nassirian (Mash Islam), Jamshid Mashayekhi (Abbas), Jafar Vali (Kadkhoda). Prod.: Ministry of Culture (uncredited).

The Cow (1969)

There are other films about men and cows (La vache et le prisonnier, for one) but unlike The Cow they can hardly be called love stories, nor are they works that so powerfully explore madness, solitude and obsession as this film does. This milestone of Iranian New Wave cinema tells the story of a poor villager (played by stage actor Ezzatolah Entezami in one of Iranian cinema’s greatest performances) whose only source of joy and livelihood is his cow, which provides milk for the village. (Not surprisingly, when the film came out, the milk was viewed by the left as symbolic of oil.) One night the cow is mysteriously killed and that’s when the madness, or rather transformation, begins.

LFF#59: 5 Documentaries

Five documentaries from the 59th London Film Festival, reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

1
HE NAMED ME MALALA
Director : Davis Guggenheim
USA 2015

The story of Malala Yousafzai has received so much attention by public media. A fifteen year old girl who was shot by Taliban for openly opposing their suppressive regime, subsequently rising to the level of international fame having audition with Queen and President Obama and eventually awarded Nobel Peace Prize. But international fame has made her a controversial figure open to debates. Some of her admirers see her achievements as her destiny decided by powers higher above, drawing a parallel between her and a legendary figure of the same name who with her words inspired the army of her country to win a battle over a more powerful enemy. A less sympathetic group see her fame in the light of propaganda created by the West against Taliban. But some facts remain indisputable. Malala is a courageous girl who after being shot by Taliban has not stopped her fight against them. She has a close relationship with her father who is an intelligent, cultured, and enlightened man. Her way of thinking is very much influenced by her father. She is brought up to believe in freedom of people and human rights. She has had a good education. Her speeches are well articulated. Some speculate that her speeches are written by her father but that is not for certain. At interview when faced with an unexpected question she comes up with a well formulated answer. Davis Guggenheim for making his documentary has had a great deal of material to use ( as Malala has been photographed and filmed a lot ). In treatment of his subject he has glorified Malala to the extreme. He particularly highlights the similarity between Malala,s character and her legendary namesake. The end result is a well compiled picture of an emotive subject. But how truthful ?


2
BRAND: A SECOND COMING
Director :Ondi Timoner
UK 2015

Russell Brand as an Stand up comedian is famous for his loud volume of voice, a non- stop barrage of words and jokes which, although at times witty, are mostly vulgar and not to everyone,s taste. But this documentary about him reveals the other side of his character showing that he can be a more interesting person out side the stage. Film focuses, not on Russell,s stage career and scandals of sex and drugs ( although they have been covered adequately ) but more so on his personality and politics which are very much inter -related. The picture that emerges is a manic character with an over-active brain, non -stop coming up with ideas which are immediately voices without being checked for their logic. His uninhibited nature can not accept control. If anything he controls and dominates other ( as shown in the funny scene of American TV interview) with regard to his politics he has a sharp wit to instinctively notice problems but his disorganized way of thinking comes up with solutions which at best are unrealistic and at worse dangerous. Any possibility of his engaging in politics would be nothing short of disastrous. The film tries to present as honest a picture of him as possible. But in the end gives up defending something which is not defensible. In the words of Brand,s manager :” Ask Russell all the questions. But do not follow him”


3
CENSORED VOICES 
Director : Mor Loushy
Israel 2015

During Six Day War in 1967 between Israel and Arab countries leading to Israel,s remarkable victory, some Israeli soldiers were interviewed as they were making their advance towards Jerusalem. The recorded interviews reveals a very different story. A dark truth behind the glory of liberation of Jerusalem. Many soldiers admit that while initially they were proud of their victory, they gradually began to see their role as aggressors. They express the shame and guilt for their treatment of Arab people, making them leave their homes ( in the words of one soldier making them refugees in their own country ) The recorded interviews were only allowed to be partly released. In this film, for the first time and after many years, we can hear them uncensored and in their totality. Director Mor Loushy uses their recording on the soundtrack of the film as a basis for his documentary. They are visually accompanied by authentic ( and rarely seen ) archive material carefully matched with the narrative on the soundtrack. Added to the archive material are shots of key figures commenting on the events of the past. The message coming across is the futility of war, putting more value on human life than conquering lands. A strong anti war film with a moral tone to match.


4
THE FEAR OF 13
Director : David Sington
UK 2015

It is a documentary about Nick Yarris, a prisoner accused of murder and on Death Row, who after 23 years trying to prove his innocence appealed to Court for his execution. The film is entirely made of showing him talking to the camera. He is a great story teller. He talks about his criminal past, drug addiction, burglary, car stealing, and acts of violence (but not murder ). He tells us about prison wardens and their acts atrocity towards him as well as other prisoners, his relationship with a female volunteer visitor which led to romance and marriage. Later on breakdown of that marriage could have something to do with his appeal for execution. Eventually with advance of science and discovery of DNA he could prove his innocence and was released from prison. He saw his freedom as a second chance life has given him and decided to reform himself. Since then he has become a virtuous man, leading a respectable life, helping drug addicts and criminals with similar problems of his own in the past. He now lives in UK ( away from his reputation of the past ). He is married and has a daughter. A very positive and heart-warming film.
Even more interesting than film was presence of Nick Yarris at the screening, answering questions from the audience, gaining sympathy,respect,and admiration of everyone.


5
SOMETHING BETTER TO COME
Director : Hanna Polak
Denmark – Poland 2014

Only thirteen miles out side Moscow there is a huge garbage site of several miles in dimension. A crowd of homeless people live there. They try to survive by finding whatever left over food in the rubbish, and build some shelter by any means they get hold of to protect them against cold winter. The rate of crime, prostitution, drug abuse and alcoholism is high. A good number do not survive for too long. Director Hanna Polak decided to film this group ( secretly and away from the watchful eyes of police and authority ) Soon she noticed Yula a ten year old girl who was born on the site and decided to film her over the next fourteen years ( a method not dissimilar to Richard Link later,s Boyhood ). The result is document on human misery unimaginable at the heart of our present day civilisation.

Capsule Review of Films from the 59th London Film Festival

Kiomars Vejdani's Capsule Reviews of Films from the 59th London Film Festival



THE LOBSTER
Director : Yorgos Lanthimos
UK-Ireland -Greece 2015

Films of Yorgos Lanthimos are always odd (the good example is Dogtooth) but here he pushes the boundaries of oddity up to the absurd. The film is set sometime in the future when celibacy is condemned. Anyone without a partner has 45 days to find one. Otherwise (with advanced surgical methods of future) he will be turned into the animal of his choice. The animal that film's protagonist has chosen is lobster (hence the title of the film). The setting can be seen as a hotel or a luxury prison and residents as guests or prisoners. The rules are as arbitrary and irrational as the those imposed by the father on his children in Dogtooth. The result is an environment which dehumanizes the people. Irrational rules and absurd behaviour are at the roots of film,s dry humour. But in the end film moves towards a more serious tone and sincerity of feelings when the protagonist chooses the woman he loves against all regulations and in the process makes the biggest sacrifice of his life.


THE ASSASSIN
Director : Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Taiwan-China – Hong Kong 2015

Winner of Best Director Award in this year's Cannes Film Festival Assassin is another example of skilfully made martial art film by Hou Hsiao- Hsien. Set during the ancient dynasty of Tang in
9th century China, it revolves around the character of woman trained in martial arts and equipped with highest level of skills to act as assassin and carry out missions as commanded by her master until she is given a mission which is against her moral beliefs and personal feelings. The story of her moral awakening is told in slow measured pace against the background of classical splendour of ancient China. A visually rich and stylish film,beautifully photographed scenery and skilfully choreographed scenes of fast pace martial arts action.


CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR
Director :Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand-UK-France

In the hazy heat of tropical area, a group of sick soldiers in a hospital which used to be a school, a mother visiting her son who is in coma, a volunteer visiting girl who has the power of heeling and the ability to see the past. With these elements the director creates his familiar world. In a dreamlike state boundaries between sleep and wakefulness,reality and fantasy, past and present, life and death are all blurred. People change their identity without changing their appearance. Ghosts look like living people while real environment turns into a dreamlike one with neon lights which change colour non-stop. Film ends in a cemetery which has vanished long time ago and now only exists in our memory As his usual Apichatpong Weerasethakul leaves us somewhere between dream and wakefulness


TANGERINE
Director :Sean Baker
USA 2015

A hilarious film about two transsexual hookers on New Year,s Eve are trying to find a girl who has an affair with boyfriend of one of them. In their search for the girl they go through a series of funny situations with odd characters. A fast moving film,bursting with energy, having jokes at every moment. But in the end slowing down to stress the value of true friendship.


VERY BIG SHOT
Director : Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya
Lebanon-Qatar 2015

The film begins with something like Goodfellas in Lebanon with plenty of violence. But soon it changes its tone to become a comedy about film making with the protagonist acting as the producer. But at the last few moments of the film, as the protagonist decides to enter politics,yet another another aspect of the film is introduced. So the film that started as a gangster thriller ends up as a social climbing satire.


DESIERTO
Director : Jonas Cuaron
Mexico – France 2015

Film is about a group of Mexicans being killed by a sadistic mentally deranged sharp shooter while illegally crossing the border into America. Director Jonas Cuaron uses their massacre as a basis for a thriller, increasing the film,s tension as the acts of killing progresses without much attention to dramatic depth. Despite the superficial current of excitement the plot is too incredible to be convincing and the protagonists too stereotyped to arouse our sympathy.


OFFICE 
Director : Johnnie To
China – Hong Kong  2015

The film with the help of elaborate sets,cast of hundreds, bright colour photography, and added
3D technology shows us how not to make musicals. Its only use is as a proof that making of musicals is best left to Hollywood.


THE CLUB 
Director : Pablo Larrain
Chile 2015

The film begins with a quotation from Bible stating that God after creating the light liked it so much that He decided to keep it separate from darkness. The new film of Pablo Larrain concentrates on this area of darkness. In a house by the seaside in the remote part of the country live a group of priests ( and a nun ) who because of some sinful act in their past are barred from active duties.
Pablo Larrain uses such a setting and characters to create an infernal atmosphere. Film,s dramatic tension is created out of contrast between attitude of characters and strict rules of church ( represented by a visiting supervisor, an upright priest with strong religious faith ). Larrain's priests are a mixture of evil beings committing acts of extreme cruelty,and normal human people who enjoy pleasures of life and are honest and frank about their sexuality ( the film,s dialogue is sexually very explicit ) Through their characters and the resulting moral ambiguity Larrain gives us a controversial picture of church and its rules.


YOUTH
Director : Paolo Sorrentino
Italy 2015

Paolo Sorrentino's new film, like The Great Beauty is about looking back at life after reaching the summit of one,s creative career, With the difference that here we have two protagonists. A retired composer (Michael Caine) and a film director (Harvey Keitel) Being close friends for many years they enjoy each other,s company while staying in a spa hotel in Switzerland. Like the previous film they encounter a range of colourful characters,each with their own idiosyncrasies. They go over their ups and downs of life, remember their happy and sad moments. In the end they reach to the conclusion that at the their old age there is not much more to do but to look back. One of them accepts the situation and compromises. The other does not. Another stylish film by Paolo Sorretino, as beautiful as the Great Beauty.


VIRGIN MOUNTAIN
Director : Dagur Kari
Iceland – Denmark 2015

The film takes us through stages of emotional development of a young man from a childlike existence to full maturity and total independence. Director Dagur Kari in portraying the character of his protagonist pays a great deal of attention to psychological details, taking his time to build his process of development into a mature man. A very humane and heart warming film.


LAND OF MINE
Director : Martin Zandvliet
Denmark - Germany 2015

With the liberation of Holland at the end of second world war the Allied faced the problem of a good number of mine fields in need of detonation and decided to give this task to German prisoners. Director Martin Zandvliet bases his powerful drama on victimization of German soldiers. The prisoners ( mostly teenage boys ) are treated insensitively and cruelly by Allied officers, using them as a target for aggression and to retaliate for crimes of German army while the were victorious. The film by such a reversal of roles raises the morally controversial issue of consequence of victory and its effect on victors. Our sympathy is with young German prisoners.

The film's tension escalates with each occasion that the group goes through fear of death or sorrow of losing yet another friend. The film,s change of moral tone is personified in the character of the camp,s warden and his change of attitude from hostile prejudice and angry cruelty to sympathy, affection and kindness. It is a film which by condemning the consequences of war, whether victory or defeat, puts maximum value on humanity  

Fish & Cat (Shahram Mokri, 2013)

MAHI VA GORBEH [Fish & Cat]
Director: Shahram Mokri
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

The first thing we notice about Mahi va Gorbeh is the technical challenge Shahram Mokri has taken on board. The film is shot uninterruptedly from start to finish in one long take. But film’s technical excellence is only a doorway to a dark and ambiguous world. By passing through this doorway we face a labyrinth with multitude of questions awaiting us at every corner. Within a single shot of the film we encounter numerous characters, all crammed in a limited space, their life stories cutting across each other to make a complex pattern.

Our first point of contact with the film is a crime story. Right at the beginning of the film we are informed that it is based on a true event of horrible crimes committed by owners of a restaurant in northern Iran. But despite such information, there is no visual sign of any crime within the film. It is totally free of physical violence. Mokri seems not in the least interested in crime story. His approach to film’s subject is purely philosophical. Any referral to a committed crime is indirect and nothing more than a hint like the vague cry of anguish and agony we hear from far away, or the machete Babak takes with him before going into the woods and the blood stained foul smelling bag he carries along. Any intention of crime by Babak is only implied by his way of interaction with his potential victims, either a threatening manner (like his encounter with the driver at the beginning of the film), or a cunning approach (the way he lured Parvaneh into the depth of the woods). The nearest we get to witnessing any evidence of crime is the scene of the cat holding a cut off finger in his mouth. But again instead of visually presenting such an image it is described by Mina and we only have her horrified reaction as she stares straight at us. The subjective viewpoint of camera is enough to convey her horror.

The Program (Stephen Frears, 2015)

THE PROGRAM
Director: Stephen Frears; UK/France, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

Stephen Frears' film about Lance Armstrong is dealing with not so much his sporting life but more so his personality. While film acknowledges his sporting talent as a cyclist and his courageous comeback after cancer, he puts more emphasis on his character flaws. He is selfish, excessively ambitious, obsessed with winning Tour de France. He uses any means to achieve his goal including unethical and illegal ones such as collaboration with doctor of dubious character and unprofessional conduct, clandestine use of illegal drugs. His activities move him gradually further away from true spirit of sport. The unethical aspect of Armstrong's activities are presented through the character of David Walsh, a sport journalist who stands up to him and makes his activities publicly known. As a result Armstrong loses all his awards.

Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015)

CAROL
Director: Todd Haynes; USA/UK, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

In Todd Haynes' new film, like his Far From Heaven, the influence of Douglas Sirk is very much noticeable. Carol is a romantic melodrama about a relationship condemned and forbidden by the morality rules of the time (mid fifties, Haynes, favourite era) Carol (Cate Blanchett) is a rich woman from the upper class and a homosexual. She is attracted towards Therese (Rooney Mara)
a young photographer who is equally in love with her. Their relationship remains purely emotional for quite a while before reaching physical level. But there are many moral and social barriers in the way of their love, the most prominent one Carol's husband, a jealous and possessive man who nevertheless is desperately in love with Carol, frustrated by her loving someone else and angry about her homosexuality and its stigma. Only the courage of two women enables them to overcome the obstacles in the way of their love. The last moment of the film with alternate close ups of two women keep looking at each other is its highest romantic moment. Essential to film's romantic mood is the excellent performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara (Winner of Best Actress Award in this year's Cannes Film Festival).

Suffragette (Sarah Gavron, 2015)

SUFFRAGETTE
Director: Sarah Gavron; UK, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

Meant to be one of the prestigious productions of the year, the film is about women's fight for the right to vote in England 1917, as inspired and led by the activist group Suffragetes. The film uses the experience of its protagonist (an ordinary housewife played by Carey Mulligan) to depict the development of the movement. From the condition of women with hard manual work and low wages in a male dominated world to gradual emergence of social awareness and reacting to the injustice of social discrimination, initially peaceful protest but later on defiant acts of sabotage, harsh treatment by the police to suppress the movement, sacrifices of losing job and family, and eventually recognition through one of the members sacrificing her life. Director Sarah Gavron gives a powerful drama based on her own feminist conviction and belief in the rights of women.

Francofonia (Alexander Sokurov, 2015)

FRANCOFONIA
Director: Alexander Sokurov; France/Germany/Netherlands, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

The story of Louvre told the way only Alexander Sukorov can tell with a style as unique and distinguished as ever. Similarity of its visual treatment to Russian Arc (except its continuous take) is very noticeable. Like the previous film it takes us on a journey through time. From historical origin of Louvre and building of the castle in its initial form through different stages of its development with added structures, right up to its present day state. In his presentation of Louvre Sokurov's main emphasis is on its role in preservation of cultural and artistic heritage of France as the foundation of civilization. In developing his theme Sokurov resorts to any device. He takes us back and forth in time, moves between reality and fantasy. He uses any visual element at his disposal: archive material, dramatic re-enactment, and animation. He brings characters from history back to life. He jokes with them (Napoleon in particular is object of his fun), and in the end tells them their future. Accompanying the images we have Sokurov's continuous informative, and at times sarcastic commentary. Francofonia is more than a documentary. It is a document on necessity of having something of lasting values in the imperfect world of mankind.

El botón de nácar (Patricio Guzmán, 2015)

PEARL BUTTON
Director: Patricio Guzmán; France/Chile/Spain, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

Patricio Guzmán in his new film uses the same format as Nostalgia for the Light, starting with exploration of nature by science and ending up with investigation of crimes committed by the dictatorial regime of Pinochet in Chile. In the previous film he used astronomy to explore stars in the universe and archaeology to find about early history of mankind in the sands of Atacama desert. But in his new film the object of his scientific exploration is water. It is argued that water is not only the source of life and its creation, but also the agent of its transfer between planets. The existence of water (and hence life) on other planets has been explored by scientific methods. On planet earth people at ancient times used water to move to new areas, settle and build their homes. They enjoyed a peaceful and happy life until Europeans arrived and a chain of exploitation and atrocity in countries like Chile began with criminal acts of previous dictatorial regime as its last link. Throughout the film Guzmán's running commentary is delivered in measured pace to accompany his poetic images. Presentation of atrocities in this film is not as elaborate as in Nostalgia for the Light, nevertheless it is equally powerful, specially in the section about throwing bodies attached to pieces of heavy metal from the aeroplane into the ocean to conceal evidences of their crimes. We see one of these pieces of metal brought back from the bottom of the sea by the divers. The human body is completely dissolved by the salt water of the ocean over the years. The only thing left of it is a pearl button implanted into the metal. The whole history of criminal acts of dictatorial regime is encapsulated in this tiny button.