3 posts tagged “iran”
finally got round to watching Persepolis
i enjoyed the simple, stylized animation aesthetic.
however the narrative left me cold. emotionally the film felt as flat as its stark black or white palette. i also felt that the insights into iran the country, the culture, the people and the politics lacked depth. i think we probably made a mistake by watching the english dubbed version which is what i put the dialog's slight clumsiness down to. part of my disconnect could be due to my lack of a sense of nationalism or patriotism which ahmed correctly points out is one of the film's underlying themes - with its corresponding deep disappointment in the ugly realities of 'my country'.
i think this was a case of inflated expectations affecting my enjoyment of the film which was innovative, novel and important in the current cultural context and is definitely recommendable.
the movie certainly generated plenty of buzz (and box office sales >US$22 million worldwide) and i think there is room for much more creative output from the region displaying the various often overlooked subtleties of notions of identity, perspectives of 'the west' and universal humanist concerns. there is a hunger globally and regionally for such fare.
i am always happy to see voice given the the liberal, non-stereotypical, often silent middle east. (this seems even more vital 7 years and a day later).
waltz for bashir sounds like an exciting addition to this new animated genre of middle eastern film. i think we can trace the lineage back to joe sacco (Palestine
you know you're in kiarostami's world from the very start. the familiar opening front seat shot is like hearing a favorite song's opening note. the film is in turn meditative, thoughtful, sad, angry, funny, meandering, and (of course) non-judgmental.
stand-out chapters / moments for me: the prostitute chapter - funny and cute; the brilliant opening chapter slaps you into the movie's universe; the independent thinking divorcee's free-wheeling rants.
not sure how these film got past the iranian censors with an unveiled (although shaven) women, prostitution and plenty of bitching about women's place in iranian society ("do women have to die to live?").
minimally and beautifully digitally shot, especially the night scenes. unbeleivably efficient film-making.
an insight into the life of an iranian women. an insight into the mind of a woman, mother, wife, lover.
kiarostami like all my favored artists asks questions rather than offering answers and as with a few of his iranian new wave contemporaries straddles the documentary / fiction division.
genius. highly recommended.
