Gheisar.

Review #1950: Gheisar.

Cast: 

Behrouz Vossoughi (Gheisar), Pouri Banai (Azam), Naser Malek Motiei (Farman), Jamshid Mashayekhi (Gheysar's uncle), Mir Mohammad Tajaddod (Azam's brother), Bahman Mofid (Mayek), Iran Daftari (Gheysar's mother), Jalal Pishvaian (Mansour Ab-mangol), and Gholam-Reza Sarkoob (Rahim Ab-mangol) Written and Directed by Massoud Kimiai.

Review:

“The truth is that no conscious, pre-planned movement would ever work in cinema — some spontaneity is always needed. But it is true that I couldn’t see myself as a part of the Iranian cinema of that period. Things were ready for me.”

It is interesting to note how many countries have had their own "New Wave". It probably helps to cover as many films as one could hope to do for films all around the world. So here we are. Two early films to set the stage of the wave were The House is Black (1962) - a documentary about a leper colony with poetry, and Brick and Mirror (1964) - considered the first masterpiece of the modern era for Iranian cinema. However, it is 1969 with films such as Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow and this one that are considered the first films of the new wave. The New Wave counteracted the popularity of the "Filmfarsi" (also referred to as Persian Film), which were cheaply-made Iranian films with little dimension in their archtype.There have been argument over the amount of phases taken in the new wave, which has to take account for the Iranian Revolution in 1979 (incidentally, it was a fire at a cinema the previous year that saw hundreds die by arson that served as a trigger for the revolution). As such, we start with Masoud Kimiai, born in Tehran. He started work in film as an assistant director in the mid 1960s before his first film with Come Stranger (1968). Kimiai has made features in Iran for over five decades. Sadegh Khalkhali, an infamous "hanging judge", once stated after the Revolution that if all cinemas were closed, then the film should not be shown. Thankfully, if one looks for it in the right spot, you can see the film on the Internet.

When converted from Persian to English, the title translates to Caeser. However, there are three titles the film is generally known by: Qaiser, Qeysar, and Gheisar. At its heart, it is a movie about taking rebellion into one's own hands. It serves as a vengeance movie that looks into both the past and the present that seems like poetry - or whatever you want to call a film that isn't just an excuse to see revenge by knife. The key deaths happen in various locations, such as a public bath, a slaughterhouse, and a railway, and the revenge that occurs happens at a high price to the circle around the pursuer of revenge. Is the revenge a matter of family honor or for pride? The fact that the film moves at a carefree pace (100 minutes) to allow for one to discuss it makes it a quality feature worth looking into further. Morality and tradition are the main points to focus on with this film, right from the opening that shows illustrations of legends from long ago (tattooed on one's body). Vossoughi became a notable name within cinema for this film, which makes sense given how effective he is in within a brooding anti-hero role that strikes at the heart of conformity and, well, violence. He conveys the terrible dilemma that eats at one's soul (action over non-action) with convincing pathos that makes us consider just how much of his road of despair is one that we should follow along willingly. Given that Pishvaian and the other adversaries to this path of family revenge aren't exactly as prominently featured as he is, consider it a fruitful lesson to think about. Mashayekhi provides withered tragedy as the standing force of tradition that can only help but watch tragedy unfold around him. As a whole, it is paced quite well within the bounds of trying to present a new vision of Iranian perspective involving society and tradition, and the legacy of the film is one of solemn conviction that endures strongly after five decades.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

In the history of Movie Night, there have been exactly two reviews of movies made by countries of the Middle East: Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (Turkey) and Cairo Station (Egypt). It was definitely time to cover a film from Iran, which means that the three most populated countries of the Middle East have at least one spotlighted film, and Persian finally joins the ranks of languages heard on Movie Night. I will say that any review of a film from, say, Israel, would only occur if I found a film from the State of Palestine, because, well, it seems like the most fitting rule. We shall see what could be next from the Middle East. At any rate, our next film is Bugsy Malone.