Has there been a study done on the varieties of promotional critical quotes on movie posters? Carefully selected, they are intended to appeal to the films’ target audience. Here is a collection (by no means exhaustive) of some of them:
Hard Sell: “(Two) Thumbs (Way) Up ! (!!!…);
Direct Sell: “Non-Stop Action”;
Statistical: “Five Stars/Hankies/Popcorns”;
Abstract: “Poetic”
Among them, probably the last example relates best to arthouse audience. So how is a film poetic?
The term is often generously employed for mainstream titles that tell a romantic story and with beautiful cinematographic shots. Films like Atonement and English Patient come to mind. While many of these films are highly watchable and possess artistic merits, the link between poetry and films extend beyond the intuitive categorisation.
Poetry, in its written form, is highly distinguishable from others such as novels and essays in its structure and rhythm. In short verses that conjure up images, imaginations and emotions, it is as much a literary form as expression of living. In that sense, Iranian films probably most closely reflect the essence of poems. For over centuries, poetry is the predominant art form in Persian culture. When Iranian film-makers turn to narrating stories with cameras, it is natural for them to adopt some of the unique characteristics of poem in their works.
It is therefore quite a different experience watching Iranian films compared with mainstream films. Just as one who enjoys reading The Da Vinci Code might need some adjusting to appreciate The Road Not Taken, one will need to approach Iranian films differently in order to capture its beauty in full blossom.
First requirement: Patience. Iranian films are typically minimalistic in style: Shots are beautifully composed and longer than usual; narrations are generally character-driven rather than event-driven; plot points, if any, are not distinctly identifiable. It is therefore necessary to sit back and allow our minds be carried along by the images and invest ourselves with the characters. Gradually, in the magical hands of a talented director, we will feel with the characters.
Taste of Cherry (1997; Director: Abbas Kiarostami) is one such film. The film tells the story of a suicidal man’s search for help in making sure his body shall be properly buried after his final act. In search of the ‘prospective' employee, he drives aimlessly across town and picks up strangers who are willing to listen and talk.
The director placed the camera within the car and on the front passenger’s seat. It was directed mostly on the protagonist but panned out occasionally and take in the scenes outside of the car. These empty shots form an important narrative for audience who patiently take in the dialogues, mostly conversational but philosophical when read in conjuncture with sequences such as the dusts blowing in the wind and passing cloud covering the moon. How the film ends (or not) is probably not important for we have taken a spiritual journey along side the protagonist.
Imagination is also an important attribute in appreciating Iranian films. Iranian directors tend to prefer images to narrators in expressing their ideas. As audience, we are demanded to work harder in piecing the images and narratives together and discern directors’ messages.
Kandahar (2001; Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf) tells the story of an Afghan-borned journalist who returns to and travels across the Taliban-ruled, war-torn motherland in search of her sister. One of the sequences in the film lingers on years after one has seen the film: An aid organization is airdropping prosthetic legs in a desert. As the false limbs drops to ground, a group of amputated men is seen, in slow motion, rushing toward the drop zone in clutches. The emotions of longing and tiredness on their faces are juxtaposed together with their desired items parachuting down from the sky. The anti-war message is subtly delivered through our inference from the images.
Above all, to truly appreciate Iranian Cinema, one should be equipped with empathy for life. For living is the central character in virtually all Iranian films. To that end, many of the actors and actresses are non-professionals. They are cast not for their acting skills but because they live the characters’ lives. Their performances, if you can call it that, therefore pierce directly across the screen and right into our hearts.
Like a bottle of good wine, good Iranian films are subtle, multifaceted and long in finish. The structure is not apparent at first but the construction is paced by the directors to evoke feelings in the hearts and minds of the audience toward the larger motif of life.
It is also poetry.
(
The article first appeared in printed edition of asia! Magazine)
