Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution

Contemporary Iranian cinema draws much praise from Western critics, yet the history of filmmaking in Iran is barely known to most movie lovers. If the earlier film clips presented in Nader Takmil Homayoun's documentary Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution are representative, then pre-revolutionary Iranian films were virtually a mishmash of stale farces and third-rate neo-realism, all framed within the censorship demands of the imperial government. Only the 1969 crime drama Gheiser appears to have any sense of cinematic power, although the sequence shown here (a murder in a shower) bears more than a passing resemblance to the notorious shower scene in Psycho. Post-revolutionary Iranian film (i.e., after 1979) operated under a new list of censorship do's and don'ts, but offered more visual artistry and (most important) a sophisticated distribution strategy that took Iranian cinema beyond the country's borders. The film also features a who's who of leading Iranian filmmakers in talking head interviews (Amin Naderi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Jafar Panahi are among the most notable personalities here). The absence of film preservation is glaring, with many of the older prints showing signs of scratching and grit; nonetheless, this insightful documentary would be useful in both Middle Eastern history and cinema studies collections. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)