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Exclusive Interview with Director Ebrahim Mokhtari (2008) living in Iranian rural communities and how extraordinary it is for a female political candidate, like Zinat..

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein (2009)
"American Radical is a nuanced and powerful portrait of the scholar Norman Finkelstien, one of the..

Watch The Stoning of Soraya M (2008) A drama set in 1986 Iran and centered on a man, whose car breaks down in a remote village and enters into ..

War (Uerra) (2009)
Italy summer of 1946. The war has ended but there are no signs of peace between fascist Paolo and socialist Luigi. A Film by Paolo Sassanelli

Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email..

Iranian Women Filmmakers (2002)
While film-making in Iran remains a sensitive and intensely political process, women film-makers have..

Watch The Queen and I (2008) Three decades after leaving her home country, Iranian filmmaker Nahid Persson Sarvestani decided to make..

Plaisir d'amour en Iran (1976)
Made at a time when Iran had a seemingly revolving door for incoming European directors and bottomless funding for..

Iran (1971)
Far more than a travelogue with pretty pictures, this little-known film won six international awards..

Father of My Children (2009)
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A Family (2010)
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Of Gods and Men (2010)
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Crude (2009)
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Honey (2010)
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Amreeka (2009)
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The Lives of Others (2007) East Berlin, November 1984. Five years before its downfall, the former East-German government ensured its claim to power with a...

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Elephant (2003) In a more equitable world, Gus Van Sant's Columbine-inspired Elephant would be required viewing in every American high school...

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Iran (1971)
Directed by: Claude LeLouch
Date of birth: 30 October 1937, Paris, France
Music by: Francis Lai
Country: France
Language:
Color: Color
Runtime: 19 min
Released: 1971
Genre: Documentary

This film won six international awards
Far more than a travelogue with pretty pictures, this little-known film won six international awards shortly after its release. 'Iran' consists of spectacular geographical and archaeological footage interspersed with "slice of life" shots, evidencing best juxtapositional editing we've ever seen.

This is a buried masterpiece from the director of 'A Man and a Woman', 'Happy New Year' ,and 'And Now My Love.' Lelouch reportedly shot six miles of footage to make this film, which apparently was sponsored by a multinational petroleum pipeline construction firm, as a gift to the Shah's wife. One guesses that international dissatisfaction with the excesses of the Pahlevi regime negatively affected the distribution of the film, a shame, because few films treating similar themes are its equal.

The musical score by Francis Lai is a priceless timepiece, resplendent with heavy early-70s euro-pop wah-wah guitar. An intriguing, beautifully crafted, and dynamic film, this visual poem transcends the didactic. (Internet Archive)

This film is best understood after watching Albert Lamorisse's Baadeh Sabah, an ostentatious propaganda film of the same commission that was originally rejected for it's inadequate portrayal of Iran's nouveau-modernism (urban youth, industrial marvels) and it's overly-lyrical style. In LeLouche's rendition, there are no such inadequacies. The focus is on culture - heritage, modernity and (what soon would be named) Westernization.

Past and present meet - veils and miniskirts, camels and helicopters, remains of ancient Persia, the highlights of Islamic art, caviar and the oil fields and gas pumps. The Shah looks good in white turtlenecks and Farah Diba is seen in the Farah Diba hairstyle. This charming couple didn't copy European royalty, rather appeared as an Eastern equivalent to Mr. and Mrs. John F. Kennedy - Pax Americana had succeeded Rule Britannia.

Claude LeLouch

The Pahlavi dynasty was a young one, but here the Shah is depicted as the modern link in an old tradition. Many emperors have used this trick to establish a dynasty, or at least their own position. By this time the picture of Iran was changing. There was more talk of political refugees than of hairstyles. Some years passed. Came the the Islamic revolution, and Westernization was banned. Very soon it was about good or evil, black or white. This film has the quality of being both entertaining and evoking the big question of our time. (Reviewer: Eva Vikstrom - May 8, 2008 Subject: Swinging Teheran)

More films created by Claude LeLouch

Iran (1971)

Vladimir Cosma

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