Haul Bahm's Cinema Selections, and more

Much like how Cuba has deep cultural riches in its music and dance, Iran is famous for its world-class cinema.  These in particular are very poetic and insightful, in terms of the sensibilities and spirit of Iranian people.

The Cow by Dariush Mehrjui, 1969
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064356/
(A powerful, visually poetic film on deprivation and freedom)

A Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120265/
(A man gazes at the sweetness of life while contemplating suicide)

The Silence by Moshen Makmalbaf, 1998
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0152438/
(A distractable, imaginative blind boy navigates work and life through sound)

The Runner by Amir Naderi, 1985
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088992/
(The triumph and education of a street orphan in the Persian Gulf)

A Time for Drunken Horses by Bahman Ghobadi, 2000
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259072/
(An arresting story of an elderly Iranian Kurdish man, accompanied by his two musician sons, trying to locate his wife near the border)

Still Life by Sohrab Shahid Saless, 1974
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0758137/
(A silent and poetic portrait of an aging couple, living in remote Iran)

Baran by Majid Majidi, 2001
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233841/
(An unlikely love story, and a perfect expression of "romantic" love, Iranian-style)

Grass:  A Nation's Battle for Life by Richard Carver and Terry
Ramsaye, 1925
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015873/
(The first documentary of Iran ever made by Westerners.   An epic mountain crossing of the Bakhtiari tribe to find grazing pastures.)

The best English-subtitle distributor for these films is ParsVideo.  Your
local library can order these via:

http://www.parsvideo.com/
(818) 881-4881
18740 Oxnard Street, Suite 303
Tarzana, CA 91356

I do hope some of these films make the permanent collection of your local
library.  They are all treasures of world cinema.

Hanul

Note:  Sam and Ruth also suggest "The Children of Heaven" (1999),  a bittersweet story of two poor children in Tehran, making do with one pair of shoes. We enjoyed seeing it some years ago, and want to see it again.   Find it at Amazon or Netflix.

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