Diving Into Iranian Cinema

By Sarina Soleymani, Staff Writer

“At the 84th celebration of the Academy Awards in 2012, Asghar Farhadi — a renowned Iranian director — walked up on the stage to receive his award for best foreign film and give his acceptance speech. He expressed, “Iran is spoken here through a glorious culture (...) hidden under the heavy dust of politics.”

To me, this quote exemplifies the importance of Iranian cinema: it is the brush that cleans the political dust off of Iran, giving a glimpse into the culture, the interactions of the people, the food, the scenery, the good and also the bad. Within these representations, we still find snippets of the real political context that Iranians live in. Yet this time, these depictions come from Iranian people, as opposed to Western or Islamic media, with ulterior motives behind the narratives they choose to display. Iran is truly exceptional when it comes to cinema, with numerous brilliantly creative figures that push their way into mainstream media. Let us take a quick dip into some of my cherished recommendations in this oceandeep world of Iranian cinema.

My favorite film of all time, and the first mention on this list, is Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation.” Winning the previously mentioned Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2012 gave international recognition not only to Farhadi, who continued to win various awards for his subsequent motion pictures, but also to Iranian cinema as a whole. Farhadi’s work generally focuses on human complexities and the varying web of interactions between people that create delicate situations in which the characters are being challenged. He aims to show human vulnerability, underscoring that oftentimes there is not an obvious answer, a distinct good or bad. He carefully uses naturalist camera work to make the storyline more real, using simplistic techniques and camera angles to follow the characters. This characteristic sets him apart in the film industry.

While all of his work, including “About Elly,” “The Salesman,” and “A Hero,” all deserve their spotlight, the one film that was genuinely above and beyond is, in my eyes, “A Separation.” With one of the most complex yet easy-tofollow storylines, “A Separation” commences with the divorce of two of the main characters: Nader and Simin. Simin wishes to leave the country with their daughter, while Nader needs to stay to care for his father, battling Alzheimer’s. Their situation complicates itself after Nader hires a caretaker for his father, a pregnant lady named Razieh, who comes from a religious and lower-class background. Following a misunderstanding, Razieh and Nader get into an explosive argument, causing Razieh to have a miscarriage resulting in a trial against Nader. Here, the two families become intertwined, and every sentence they say and every frame that precedes this moment gets examined to reveal the truth. We empathize with both sides of the story and become emotionally invested while appreciating the rationale behind their actions respectively. It uses a subtle technique to portray its message. It even gives an accurate glimpse into modern Tehran, the varying lifestyles and the socio-political and economic conditions of the people living there. It is truly a masterpiece in which every frame matters and is a remarkable stepping stone to entering the world of Iranian cinema.

My next recommendation comes from an undoubtedly noteworthy Iranian director, Jafar Panahi. His films bravely express the voice of the Iranian people, their restrictions and the systems they are trapped in. His phenomenal work, dealing with much of the political will of the Iranian population, is often deemed a threat by the regime resulting in his six-year sentence in Evin prison and a ban from film-making. This ban, however, did not stop Panahi as he continued to publish works such as “This is Not a Film,” “Taxi,” or “No Bears,” which would move on to win international awards. Yet, the piece that I would like to shed light on is “Offside” (2006).

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a strict practice forbade women from entering sports stadiums. The storyline follows six girls who, for various reasons, sneak into a football match dressed up as men. They each get caught, and we watch them spend the rest of the game in a detention section of the stadium before getting sent off to the police station accompanied by the men who detained them. The latter are young boys doing their mandatory military service and are thus forced to detain these girls even if they do not necessarily want to. What is so beautiful about his film is the humanization of these characters, the destigmatization of the people in Iran and how Panahi highlights that the people are not their government. The characters all end up bonding throughout the film: the girls and the military men befriend one another and show signs of mutual trust and care. By first commenting on the underlying hypocrisies and paradoxes within this law, Panahi uses football to comment on the society and Islamic regime, the restrictions it puts on the people and the people’s response to it. Here, the girls rebel even if they know the consequences, and the men comply, even if they do not wish to because they know the ramifications of disobeying.

The ban on women in stadiums is a dominant issue in Iran, highlighting the discrimination in this gender apartheid regime. In 2019, Sahar Khodayari, unfortunately, set herself on fire after her trial in which she was prosecuted for entering a stadium. This ineffable outrage is depicted in films such as “Offside,” where one begins to understand the complex feelings of the people in this system. The film also subtly referenced Iranian social movements, including the White Hijab movement, where Iranian women would either wear a white hijab or take off their hijabs, generally on Wednesdays, to protest against the mandatory veil rule. This entrancing ended with the intriguing directorial choice of playing the old Iranian national anthem before the 1979 revolution while depicting the people’s celebration of the Iranian team winning the march and qualifying for the world cup. This was a strong yet subtle political statement, embodying the population’s disapproval of the regime even if they wish to celebrate their country’s win. This heart-wrenching and captivating story provokes smiles, laughs and tears in minutes and is certainly not a film to miss!

On a more mundane and philosophical level, there is “Taste of Cherry” by Abbas Kiarostami. As one of the most renowned directors, Kiarostami set an important precedent for the film industry in Iran with several movies, including “Where is The Friends House?” or “Close Up.” He often depicts the Iranian countryside and uses his spectacular camera movements to illustrate its beauty. In this film, Kiarostami uses an intriguing storytelling technique where he keeps the main character a mystery. We know almost nothing of him, his family or his economic background. The extent of our knowledge is limited to his name, Mr. Badii, and that he is suicidal. Throughout the film, Mr. Badii takes a car stroll in the hills of Iran, picking up passengers who he hopes will carry out a job for him in exchange for money. He hopes to find someone who will go to where he wishes to be buried early in the morning and call his name twice. If he responds, that person will save him, take the money as a reward, and go back home. If he does not, that person should bury his body and take the money for themselves and return to their life. As he picks up these characters, they engage in conversations where they discuss the morality of suicide: the passengers try to discourage him using varying philosophies. The atypical storytelling is particularly compelling as it focuses on the concept and the message — brilliantly revealed in a plot twist that is communicated through just one sentence — as opposed to the main character and his reasons for wanting to commit this act. This film teaches us to appreciate the simple joys of life and highlights this with humble anecdotes and candid yet breathtaking camera shots portraying the scenery of Iran.

Finally, a classic recommendation is the animation adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis.” These delightful sketches give a historical overview of the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, portraying a period of dramatic change in Iran through the eyes of the book’s author — Marji. It is astonishingly nostalgic, even relatable, despite being set in a different time frame. This authenticity is found through the transparency of Marji and her thoughts and feelings alongside the interactions she observes in her family and society at the larger level. Satrapi depicts how the revolution was transformed into something other than what it was intended and the uncertainties of the time. Persepolis is a digestible, genuine and open-minded account of Iranian history and culture, striving as an excellent starting point for those interested in grasping the Iranian perspective on these events.

Artistic expression has always been central to preserving such a rich culture despite challenging conditions, and cinema does not fall short within this context. Indeed, these are just some of the many fascinating films in the kaleidoscope that is Iranian cinema that illustrates the reality of the Iranian experience.