it was almost ten years ago that i was in my iranian film phase. i suddenly discovered iranian cinema in the late 1990s and, for a couple of weeks, tried to see everything that came out of the iranian film industry. the iranian films i saw back then were pretty different from the films i had seen before. the pacing was always very slow, and there really wasn't much of a story in the conventional sense. often the films were seen through the eyes of children.
the children thing was a technique to get past government censors. the idea was that children are generally accepting of the things around them. so it makes sense for them to not say anything even if they see stuff that may cause an adult to pause or comment. so a scene that was implicitly critical of some facet of iranian society would be visible but unspoken in the film. the censors wouldn't cut the scene and the adult audience would still get the point. (later iran started producing more overtly political films (films like the circle and secret ballot). those films were sometimes, though not always, banned in iran itself, depending on the political mood of the day).
anyway, i was really obsessed with iranian film for a while, but then the obsession passed. there is a really fine line between a film that is "lyrical" or "poetic", and one that is "dull." i'm not saying that iranian films are dull, but i certainly have to be in the right mood before i see them. and although i still think that a taste of cherry is one of the best films ever made, i don't actively seek out iranian films anymore.
my last film at this year's film festival was somewhere too far. what caught my eye was the description that the film "eschew[ed] the typically spare Iranian film making style." people made other kind of film in iran? that i had to see.
and to some extent the film didn't disappoint. it still was slow by western standards. but compared to most iranian cinema, it was action-packed. it had a plot, for example. it wasn't about a guy talking about whether to commit suicide or a pair of children chasing a balloon around tehran. instead it told the story of a murder and a man who falsely confessed to committing the crime because of his love for a gangster's daughter.
i liked the film, but i keep wondering how much of a pass i gave it because it is iranian. does it deserve extra points just because it's different from other the typical iranian film experience? if the same movie were made in the u.s., i would probably be noticing its flaws. but instead i am focused on how different it is from the typical iranian film experience. meanwhile the film lacked some of the social commentary (express or implied) that i like about other iranian films.
in any case, "somewhere" was the last film i will see this year at the philadelphia film festival. despite a a rocky start, i think it was a pretty good year.
but those of you bored by these film posts will be pleased to learn that i'll have to obsess about something else now.
