Last things first.. I have seen unfortunately very few Iranian films but the few directors I can suggest are Abbas Kiarostami who makes very slow and minimalistic films. I haven't had good luck seeing all of his movies but if this "art film-style" hits at home in any way maybe it's good to watch them.obnoxion wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:06 pm I've often praised (Indo-)Persian poetry here, and perhaps I've also mentioned how beautiful I find the city of Teheran in pictures and movies. Then Henry Corbin's books introduced me to the depth of Shi'ite esoterism.
Now it seems that every movie from Iranian directors I decide to watch is brilliant.
"Taxi Teheran" by Jafar Panahi isn't occult film, but it certainly is mercurial. I always enjoy films that present everyday life with keen insight. It is a fluent film, but subtly poetic.
"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" by Ana Lily Amirpou is one of the best re-interpretation of the Vampyre film that I've seen. I mostly enjoy classical vampire films, but this one has a unique atmosphere that is hard to put into words. And if you can make a film that cannot be described with words, by that alone the film is justified.
Baba Anvari's "Under the Shadow" is a multileveled masterpiece, where psychological and supernatural horror blend in unpresented manner. The milieu of the 80's Iran is superb, and it really gives a new undertone to Yazoo's hit song "Don't Go". I see in this film a lot of those elements that were good in the Poltergeist-films, but perhaps that's just me. Some say this was the best film in 2016, and I can understand that.
If any of you have any suggestions on good Iranian films (in any genre, from any era), I wiLl be most interested.
Maybe in contemporary world after Panahi Asghar Farhadi is most well-known director and film About Elly is good although being about social issues and not an occult film. But of course there is aspects in every film which one can find to have links to esotericism.
In Death of a Salesman I feel there is aspect of Revenge in man and Mercy in woman where even after terrible happening mercy could come out to forgive a person.
There is also films by Iranian-Kurdish Bahman Ghobadi and I have tried to find some of them as they have beautiful score and music.
As I am not very familiar with the two other movies you mentioned I try to find and watch them.
Although I haven't seen the whole Tehran with my eyes but while it is surely beautiful there is funnily always the other side which is full of people and dangerously driving vehicles, loud and noisy, parks full of packs of cats looking for food and because of air pollution eyes become dry but even then it's just the other side of it.