WHY THEY ACCLAIMED IRANIAN FILM IS GOOD?

When you watch film, it is a fast education for us to understand representative

country. Those whom cannot afford paying high expenses cost by visiting the country you

can use film as part of your experience to understand their culture. Considering the magical

education of film can offer to his audience. National cinema was the big issue until now

because not all cinemas can become national cinema. Torn of discussion by most scholars

had been debated because it depends on the specific characteristics of the country. Only

certain country manages to discover and understand what does to mean by national cinema

and luckily Iran is one of them. Based on Andrew Higson there have four characteristics that

the film can be called national cinema and the characteristics are based on the textual

characteristics, economic terms, audience based consumption and last but not least cultural

value. Based on previous discussion, majorly all point already reflecting the characteristic.

Currently we already step in into technology world, major production in the world including

Malaysia using this advantage added value to enhance the quality of their product by adding

some effects to the visual or presenting new experience for movie goers such as 3

dimensional display or blending powerful soundtrack so that it help defenceless human

mood. That does not happen to Iran scenario because to them, they rather presenting a good

story to the audience and let them accept the plot naturally. Children, Islam, human rights,

women struggle, post war, cultural aspects are the main criteria in Iran’s film. Major idea and

story influence by Iranian poets, writers and past directors due to high cultural value and

history respect. That was the main reason most of their film manage to get a good response

from the local audience because the theme revolves with their experience and they felt it is so

close to them.
 Second reason they believed Western Cinema was the "Global Zionism”. Precisely

none of Hollywood film manages to be view in Iran because they rejected the western idea

and slowly it also shapes local mind to accept their ideology.

“We should contemplate transforming this national cinema into an international one...

We should consider what image of Iran and Iranians [we would like] to screen to the world...

We hope to turn the train that is Iran’s cinema into an ocean-going ship that every cinema-

goer [throughout the world] can board.” The statement quoted above was made by Dr. Majid

Shah-Hosseini, head of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, which is Iran’s official authority in

charge of supporting and encouraging the country's film industry. Only selected film from

western entering cinema or broadcast station but they need to pass tough censorship board.

Sa’eed Mostaghaci stressed that “these movies nevertheless had an ideological or political

agenda, because they were products of the highly ideological, "evangelistic" Christian-Zionist

cinema”. Example of the film are Armageddon, Independence Day, The Matrix and Harry

Potter whom representing the main idea of Jewish, Kabala and Zionist although they

spreading to the media that it just common film that try to portrayed human life in the future

or other world. But on the other hand it implied their status quo.

STYLE OF FILMMAKING

Considering they hate western so much, Italian Neo Realism and French New Wave

are the main style of filmmaking. “Spurred by both foreign influences and indigenous

traditions, the post war period saw several film makers beginning to work with the goal

revelling contemporary social conditions” (David, 2008, 459). Iran-Iraq war started around

September 1980 to August 1988 due to Iraq invaded Iran and major political conflict. After

1990 the truly image of Iranian war film can be seen in major film directed by various

director such as Morteza Avini, Azizollah Hamidnejad, Rasoul Molla-Gholipour and also
Khosrow Sinai with his famous film In the Alleys of Love. Farabi Cinema Foundation mostly

funded the film because they would like to inculcate humanistic aspect, patriotism and often

the ending of the story will portrayed as glorious and "holy,".

On the 20th of century France is the centre for Iranian people whom they would like to

go to further their study. French people easily accepting Iran culture and freely try to blend it

with their culture. Fereydoun Hoveyda one of the Iran’s ambassador closely working with

author of French New Wave, François Truffaut. They produce the most readable film

magazine Les Cashiers du Cinéma. Instead of that, they also influence this movement by

composing their music into French film, co writing the story and also being an actor for

several film projects because they believe that they are working on the same thinking rather

than the western.

IRANIAN NEW WAVE

Film surely deals with an audience. Reception and perception are based on the pre

historic experience that happen to specific film history development at certain country.

Example Malaysia, from childhood we had grown up with Indian or Bollywood artwork plus

style and that reflect our cinema until nowadays whereas our people keen to watch look alike

Bollywood film that has been interpret because there are watching film for enjoyment not for

an education. Same goes to horror because each our cultures have their own animinisme

believe and that the main reason also why horror film still receive full hall. Iran films

differently from others because they feed the audience with their own genre and style that

related to environmental believe and close issue. The factors that lead into this wave are

because it happens to cultural arena with origins in the political, social, and cultural

developments of the 1950s and 1960s. The new wave is trend aiming at a cultural objective.

The Iranian cinema practically entered a new stage with the making of three films: The Cow
(1969 - Dariush Mehrjuyee), Qaysar (1969 - Massoud Kimyayee), and Calm in Front of

Others (Naser Taqvaie). It was both serious and received approval from thinkers, specialists,

and intellectuals of the society, whereas before that stage, cinema had no fruit to be approved

by experts, except for a couple of failed efforts.

Those three films set off a trend distinct from FILMFARSI (a term coined for vulgar

Iranian films). The audience nowadays prefer to watch healthy Iranian films rather than a bad

and obscene copy of third and fourth grade Italian films. Apart from this, the new wave

caused the Iranian cinema to be viewed as a cultural category. All this matter was the main

cause that shape Iran film nowadays. Hamshahri, in his article entitled The New Wave in

Iranian Cinema - From Past to Present “They were not copies of any other film and drew

their structure from the film subject itself. They were new and unique both in subject and

form. This is also true about other principal factors making up a film. For instance, camera,

music, editing and acting. For example, in Sarah (by Dariush Mehrjuyee) even though the

subject is a cliché drama narrating a conflict between a young husband and wife, through the

script, decoupage in directing (using dissolve and colour darkening and lighting), conscious

refusal to use music and editing, it is given special values which even its repetitive subject

fails to influence.”. The good thing about them actually they realize the idea of story was

cliché but they are focusing on how they would like to deliver it to the world differently.

Same as love was the main theme in all films because it is human nature, but how you would

like to represent the love interestingly should be emphasized. On the other Panahi’s film The

Circle 2000, we understand Islam against in the matters of violence to women. The film

follows a day in the life of three women recently released from prison. Although we are never

told their crimes, we are given a clear picture of tile repressed nature of women's lives as they

are subject to male authority for everything. Visual showing one of the women buying a bus

ticket because she needs to go for an abortion. Abbas Kiarostami called the father of post
modernism for Iranian New Wave plus practising intellectual movement in Iran. Since he

studied arts and painting he saw the needs of artistic value on moving images. He was

consider an auteur because a director who writes his own scripts and creates original films

whose artistic merits far outweigh their commercial value. No other Iranian director has

received as many international awards or had his work exhibited at as many international film

festivals as has Kiarostami. Taste of Cherry 1997 was the minimalist film made by Abbas. “I

feel that all over the world, the tendency is no turn to simple films including my own. Iranian

films have had considerable success in recent years. Because of limitations, film-makers have

found new medium to express themselves and this arrived at a time when the world was

beginning to get tired of Hollywood. Without good audience you cannot have good films”

(Gonul, 2006, 53-54). The film is about a man whom trying to find someone whom can bury

his dead body. In the process he will go around the suburb area to find the willing one. Life

and death always the main issue that always question audience in his films.

The poetic depiction of everyday life in a documentary form is the hallmark of New

Wave Iranian cinema. This genre of film making could well be Iran's contribution to world

cinema. Through this people around the world passionately fall in love with Iran. Standing on

their own feet although that the hardest way promoting their film is worth although the

biggest player Hollywood was not supporting them.

Hamshahri. (1995). The New Wave in Iranian Cinema - From Past to Present.

Retrieved March 15, 2010 from

http://www.parstimes.com/film/new_wave.html

Miriam N. (2007). Iran, Western Cinema and the "Global Zionism".

Retrieved March 15, 2010 from

http://www.afarineshdaily.ir/afarinesh/News.aspx?NID=20916.

Gonul, D, C. (2006). Cinemas of the other: A personal journey with the film-makers from

the middle east and central asia. Bristol United Kingdom: Intellect