From Film-Farsi to Neo-Realism: Revolution and Evolution

The Tough Guy Protagonist in 1970s Iranian Cinema vs. The Stoic Child Protagonist in 1980s Post-Revolutionary Iranian Cinema - Analysis and Comparison

By: Nathan

          Throughout the 1970s, Iranian cinema was dominated by the 'tough-guy', a no-nonsense anti-hero who went against the system in order to bring justice and revenge to his unstable life. In contrast, the chaotic and war-torn climate of 1980s post-revolutionary Iran saw the emergence of a new type of hero - the stoic child actor. This character, both by necessity and convenience, replaced the once-dominant 'tough guy' anti-heroes of the rough and insular 1970s cinema. Their sudden prominence in new wave cinema signaled an important trend in Iranian filmmaking - one that broke barriers and created a language of its own, viewed and cherished by millions of people around the world.  In this paper, I will analyze the usage of the tough guy protagonist and child protagonist in two significant films from Iran's 1970s pre-revolutionary and 1980s post-revolutionary cinema, and examine how their stories mirror the social trends and societal tensions of the era. In doing so, I intend to describe the appeal of these characters and films, as well as the universal qualities that led them to be international treasures of world cinema.  Indeed, this 'evolution' from vigilante man to boy hero archetype is singular and unique in the history of world cinema, and therefore I find it crucial to delve into the ultimate significance behind this phenomenon within this critical study.

In order for us to understand this cinematic evolution, we must first understand the turbulent climate that produced these film genres—Iran in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the final years of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi’s reign, he pushed for modernization and embraced Western ideals while enforcing control through SAVAK, a brutal security force that suppressed dissent. The Shah sought to present Iran to the world as a thriving, unified nation via lavish festivals and displays of wealth. However, behind this glorious veil, the majority of the Iranian underclass continued to face poverty, repression, corruption, and chronic unemployment.   Political freedom was nonexistent in the country, and this stifling environment bred discontent among the people.

          One of the main forms of catharsis for these suffering Iranian citizens was in the cinema, where the genre of 'Film-Farsi' had become extremely popular owing to the release of several landmark films which featured bombastic and violent anti-heroes.  The films in which they starred included Qeysar (1969), Deshneh (The Dagger) (1972), and Kandu (The Beehive) (1975).  These "lutis", or "tough-guys", were the anti-hero 'gangster' protagonists whose signature hatted costumes and iconic switchblades were the center of many blockbuster films of the era.  They represented flawed, yet human protagonists in a world that had gone mad, attempting to protect their families and loved ones from danger in a lawless and corrupt society.    This bold and transgressive genre, partially inspired by Bollywood and Hollywood, and partly by Italian/French New Wave, would last until 1979 - when the Iranian revolution led to a new oppressive era in which it was extinguished (Homayoun).

          In stark contrast to the era of 1970s Iran and its secular nature, the Iran of the 1980s was a time of holy war and religious fundamentalism as Ayatollah Khomeini seized control of the state.  The initial jubilation of the people at the Shah's ouster was quickly dampened by the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq in 1980 and the eight-year war that followed between the two countries.   This resulted in over one million deaths and unimaginable suffering and destruction not seen since the World Wars of decades prior.  Khomeini- who was an avowed revolutionary Islamist and anti-imperialist- promised reforms, yet he proved to be arguably more tyrannical than the Shah as he enforced a strict new regimen of control upon the populace with the enforcement of Islamic laws for moral decency and the mass censorship of all media, including cinema.  Although he did not ban films outright, Khomeini did change the way in which they were produced with the creation of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, a strict enforcement bureau through which all Iranian movies were heretofore subject to either approval or denial.   The raunchy Film-Farsi movies of the 1970s were therefore mostly destroyed or hidden away, their public viewing deemed immoral and illegal by authorities (Tapper, 26-37).
          In the decades following the decline of Film-Farsi, there emerged a new wave of neo-realist, art-house cinema. Films like The Runner (1985), Bashu, the Little Stranger (1986), and The White Balloon (1995) became the new gold standard of Iranian cinema in place of the tough-guy films of the past. In producing these films, directors such as Bahram Beyazie and Amir Naderi had a strategy for evading the new censorship restrictions.  As films with child protagonists typically lacked the violence and sexual themes of Film-Farsi, this made them more readily approved by censors. These films also had a natural feel to them, as the actors were usually not professionally trained. The more abstract and universal themes of loneliness and discovery found in these child-centered movies resonated with audiences worldwide, unlike the more insular and gruesome struggles of the Film-Farsi characters. The films often had a slower pace and a poetic and contemplative structure, which earned international regard as art films.

          Having discussed the emergence of these two genres of film, Film-Farsi and neo-realist art-house cinema, I will now comparatively analyze an iconic film from both genres in order to understand the essence of each.   The first film I will discuss is Gavaznha (The Deer) (1974), starring the iconic actor Behrouz Vossoughi and directed by Masoud Kimiai.  Although it was less of a ‘pure Farsi-Film’, it was a movie that was made when the more subdued and less violent New Wave style of film was in its ascendancy in Iran.  It was this film that would ultimately serve as the ultimate epitaph of the Film-Farsi genre, as it was playing in the Cinema Rex during the mysterious fire that killed 400 people in 1978, months before the Shah’s overthrow in the 1979 Revolution that had swept the nation.   This event was significant in that it served as a major catalyst for the revolutionary movement, as many of the protestors blamed agents of SAVAK (the Shah’s intelligence service) for setting the fire.  Fittingly, the film itself is equally explosive in terms of its content.  It tells the tale of two smugglers who are on the run from authorities.  Ghodrat, who is wounded, seeks assistance from Sayed, a drug addict who is living a difficult life in the inner city slums.   The film is shot in high-contrast black-and-white, and its mise-en-scene or shot compositions are often of claustrophobic interiors of buildings that give the sense that the viewers are in a prison along with the characters.   This is not a literal prison with bars, but the urban prison of the corrupt and aimless society in which these characters struggle to find salvation.   It is the story of friendship between these two which provides character drama.  In one iconic scene, Sayed punches the walls of his hideout in frustration as Ghodrat looks on, and we can feel the hopelessness that he and the Iranian audience of the day may have shared at the time.   The two main characters ultimately perish in a shootout with the authorities at the end of the movie, and their final stand is a powerful moment of solidarity for these doomed individuals.  Although he could have fled, Sayed instead chooses to help his outlaw friend Ghodrat, which leads ultimately to their shared demise.   This movie, when compared to Qeysar (also directed by Kimiai and starring Vossoughi), is less action-packed- but also slower, more dramatically acted, and dialogue-focused.  These changes signal a definite evolutionary shift from the 'tough-guy' to 'new wave' Iranian film genre style (Kimiai).

          Now I will discuss the 'child-centered' film in detail. Of all of the movies of the 1980s, the films of Abbas Kiarostami in particular would become famous.  Although Kiarostami had started his career long before this time, he truly came into his own in the neo-realist era of the Iranian art-house films of the 1980s.  Kiarostami’s film Where is The Friend’s House? (1987) is a perfect example of this style of film.   Unlike the complex intrigues and layered plots of the Farsi-Films, this film contains the simplest of stories and motivations -  a boy who wants to return a notebook to his friend.   Instead of displaying the chaotic, messy and compact urban decay and enclosed spaces of Farsi-Film, the film is beautifully shot in color and showcases the wide-open, grassy and forested spaces of the countryside of Koker, north of Iran.  The boy in this film, Ahmad, goes on an incredible journey to achieve a very simple task.  Yet the film says a lot with very little, not unlike the mystical poetry of Sohrab Sepheri, which inspired its title.   In several sections of the movie, we see scenes focused on children running through winding hills and paths, as tiny Ahmad darts through his large environment.   His stoic and determined nature persists against all obstacles, whether it be his school teacher or an old man, or even his own mother, who doesn't want him to go out.  Ultimately, at the end of the movie, Ahmad is unable to find the friend, so he does the homework himself.   The next day at school, he turns it into the teacher for his friend, who gets an excellent grade, and the movie abruptly ends.   Although seemingly mundane, this ending is made remarkable by the long trek that this child had to make while attempting to deliver the book (Kiarostami).

          In comparing these two films, I found the central element of friendship to be a very powerful commonality between them.   Sayed and Ghodrat are willing to die to help one another, just as Ahmad is willing to scour the ends of the earth for his friend Mohammad to return his notebook and prevent his expulsion from school.    Another similarity is that the authority figures in both films are depicted as abrasive and controlling, whether it be the police of The Deer or the pompous school teacher (and most other adults) in ...House? Both the adult heroes and child protagonists are essentially the 'everyman' personified.  They are the underdog protagonists that strive against all adversity and go to any lengths to achieve their goals in a harsh and foreboding climate of danger and despair.   It is not hard to imagine the ease at which the average Iranian filmgoer could identify with these characters, in light of the chaos through which they lived in those times of war and corruption.   In contrast, is the universality and poetic simplicity of Kiarostami's effort, which allowed his film to achieve a quality of 'borderlessness'.  This film of his, in particular, has gone on to thrive in international circles and receive recognition and awards, while The Deer languishes in relative obscurity today, and has not even received any translation into a foreign language.  This is not to detract from the power of The Deer, but merely to state that it is a film linked to a narrow scope of time and space, whereas ...House? is a movie that transcends and influences millions of people to this day.   Perhaps this is due to the main character, the stoic child hero.

          Overall, the tough-guy protagonist’s era represented an iconic hero of 1970s Iran - bold, unconventional and maverick. In sharp contrast, the hero child character's dominance in the films of 1980s Iran signified a new type of protagonist - a character whose stoic nature and universally identifiable qualities provided a true heroic archetype for the era and whose iconic legacy is preserved today in Iranian cinema.