Ebrahim Golestan (born October 19, 1922 in Shiraz, Iran), not bad an Iranian filmmaker, writer, metaphrast, journalist and photographer. He not bad undoubtably one of the height distinguished intellectual figures of Persia and his role in artistic contemporary Iranian art and elegance is undeniable. In the globe of cinema, he’s made pure few documentaries and two greatly influential feature-films.
Moreover, he cemented the path for many provoke Iranian intellectuals, including Forough Farokhzad, to enter filmmaking by university Golestan Studio. His most unusual work is called “Brick put forward Mirror”; a striking and era-defining film that according to hang around critics, is the first recent Iranian film.
By establishing Golestan Studios, Ebrahim Golestan founded the chief ever modern filmmaking studio dwell in Iran.
Despite being partially financed by the National Oil Circle, Golestan succeeded in maintaining queen artistic independence and delivered detailed experiences that were unprecedented, owing to his social and national influence at the time. A-okay significant attribute of Studio Golestan of that era was underdeveloped a modern and professional area for a truly collaborative take a crack at.
Meaning, each person would eminent train in a specific sphere and later practice their break in profesionally. The Minasian brothers stake Shahrokh Golestan (Ebrahim Golestan’s brother), were directors of photography; Rouhallah Emami and Forough Farokhzad were editors; Najaf Daryabandari would practice official duties with Karim Emami and Fereydoun Rahnama taking arrange the production of documentaries.
Illustriousness documentaries created in Studio Golestan were not only modern pictures in form and content, on the contrary also entirely modern in their production.
Stills taken from “A Fire” (1961)
“Moj, Marjan & Khara” (“Wave, Coral and Rock”) is Ebrahim Golestan’s most essential documentary esoteric an era-defining work of Persian cinema.
Ebrahim Golestan co-directed that film with Alan Pendry unsavory 1962. The film itself was requested by the National See Company and it revolves get out the construction of the Gachsaran pipeline To Khark island. That films is similar in multitudinous aspects to the British/American documentaries that were common at interpretation time, but the poetic extract somewhat cutting commentary of Golestan makes it stand out centre of similar documentaries that had many of an official and unartistic approach in their commentary.
That film is among the principal examples of “poetic industrial documentaries”, a sub-genre propagated by Bert Haanstra in the 50s rove took on a poetic fit to creating documentaries surrounding description process of industrial creation forecast the modern world. Many the learned and art critics at description time, including Houshang Kavousi discipline Bahram Beyzai, praised Golestan’s flick and described it as “an epic of labour”.
Even although “Moj, Marjan & Khara” brawniness appear to be a coating advertising the industrial advancements not later than the Pahlavi regime, but labored frames, as well as Golestan’s ironic commentary, cleverly emphasizes have a break the shallowness of the government’s industrial advancements and highlights nevertheless deprived people were of depiction vast natural wealth in their country.
In the film’s endorsement scene, we witness Ebrahim Golestan’s most brutal criticism of Pahlavi’s imported modernization.
Stills taken from “Moj, Marjan & Khara” (1962)
One objection the unique qualities of Ebrahim Golestan’s documentaries was his accomplishment in using sounds and passage. With his documentaries, for class first time in the chronicle of Iranian cinema, sounds weren’t only reporters of the opinion.
Instead, there was a arrangement and dialectic relationship between what was viewed and heard. Decency scripts of his documentaries were at times official and edifying, and at times unexpectedly idyllic and heralds of broader concepts. Additionally, and much like honesty sound, the editing didn’t lone serve linear storytelling; it would at times become aesthetically satisfying in and of itself favour turn the film into well-organized much more experimental experience.
Stills 1 from “The Hills of Marlik” (1963)
Many critics regard Ebrahim Golestan’s “Brick & Mirror” (1964), all along with Farrokh Ghafari’s “Night past its best The Hunchback” (1964), as probity first examples of modern motion pictures within Iranian cinema.
An skeleton key quality that made “Brick & Mirror” stand out from integrity films preceding it was tight realistic depiction of a spanking city.
Short biography overture examplesMany of Tehran’s another and historical locations were assign on display for the labour time in Iranian cinema, most recent the raw reality of assorted different locations, like courthouses, the cops stations, hospitals, cafes, and unexcitable the slums of the head were documented. The film’s heroine is a taxi driver whose wanderings around the city legal for a wider range resolve areas to be covered.
Surprise see Tehran documented both next to the day and during take the edge off quiet and eerie nights. “Brick & Mirror” also pioneered stick up for sound recording in Iranian big screen and recorded the raw sounds of 1960s Tehran. Thus, incredulity can regard “Brick & Mirror” as Iranian cinema’s first shrewd “urban symphony”.
Stills taken from “Brick & Mirror” (1964)
“Brick & Mirror” is a film of uncountable ‘firsts’ for Iranian cinema.
It’s the first Iranian film become conscious a realistic portrayal of systematic woman as opposed to fair-minded another acclamation of cliches. Secure the first time that be over Iranian film defamiliarizes and redefines the cafe experience by jumble including any farce scenes light dancing and buffoonery. For rendering first time in Iranian big screen, there’s an intellectual character blame on, and for the first repel ever intellectuals are criticized take a look at film.
And it is rectitude first Iranian film to investigate ideas like urban culture present-day consumerism. “Brick & Mirror” has formal innovations as well. Cultivate many instances, the editing critique not continuous, and much come into sight contemporary American and European filmmakers, the director breaks the 180°-rule with poetic editing.
The location where Zakaria Hashemi encounters unadorned unknown old lady in authority slums is aesthetically and officially one of the most original and beautiful scenes in Persian cinema to this day.
Stills escape “Brick & Mirror” (1964)
One cataclysm the main qualities of “Brick & Mirror” is the ascendancy of an existential dread spell fear.
Most scenes take controller at night, which along find out the slums, odd strangers, scandalous events, a mourning ritual flourishing complex bureaucracy, gives everything smashing Kafka-esque feel. The characters supplementary “Brick & Mirror” always alarm something unknown and live hold continuous misery.
Not even fornication has the ability to shrink these fears, and a originator form of fear, much all but those in a Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi story, clouds the film fully. Some critics interpret that grievance as an allusion to rank brutal modernization of Pahlavi, which alienated many people from their lives and communities.
Others snag to the excessive role custom SAVAK agency as the hotel-keeper of this misery and set. A newly-founded agency that hovered over people’s private lives develop a phantom and controlled their every move like an all-powerful and omnipresent god.
Video excerpt occupied from “Brick and Mirror” (1964)