L'Iran: une révolution cinématographique

"Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution" is a decent overview of the film industry in Iran. Unfortunately, a LOT has happened since then and the documentary unintentionally gives you a false image of that industry.

The picture talks about the history of films made in Iran stretching from the early days of the Shah in the 1920s to about 2006. It's a picture folks will particularly enjoy if they are already familiar with Iranian films. Otherwise, you might feel a bit lost. Is it great? No. I found it very odd that the films of Majid Majidi (one of the greatest Iranian directors) aren't talk about at all. Perhaps this is because many of his films might be considered sentimental and safe. A few other directors I am familiar with are also oddly missing.

This brings me to what I alluded to at the beginning...that the film needs an update. Two of the directors the film championed the most and said how they were great examples of modern Iranian film were Panahi and Makhmalbaf. Well, since 2006, Panahi was placed on house arrest and forbidden to make films since he apparently offended the wrong people. And, Makhmalbaf has defected from Iran because of the rampant censorship. Plus, on a different note, the films of Farhadi aren't mentioned...and he's won two Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.