A little visit

OK, I know, I have not been blogging for nearly a month now -- call it blogger fatigue, depression about the state of the world, rivalry of Facebook, or a combination thereof. So much had been written about the National Intelligence Estimate and so little about the adoption of the UN General Assembly's resolution on the human rights situation that it seemed pointless to blog about either.

But tonight, I have seen one of the best films of the year. It's not about Iran, and not about human rights. It's about Egyptians and Israelis, peacefully. It's poetic, profound, with a great sense of humour. It's a must see.

Useful Dialogue (for once)

Having missed a connection ended-up in one good thing: I flew Air France and therefore got a chance to watch an excellent French film, Dialogue avec mon jardinier (Conversation With My Gardener in English). Simple and yet profound, hitting to the core in impressionistic touches.

I don’t know if the DVD would be available anywhere else than in France … if not, perhaps you might want to book a flight.

To all the Iranians

Marjane Satrapi has won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Persepolis. Clearly, I have not seen the film but being a fan and having read the books I can imagine that it is a very well deserved prize.

Most likely, the IRI will not think so.

And yet, when asked to comment about the controversy in a press conference, she tried not to fuel the fire by saying that the film is humanist and could have been set anywhere in the world.

Other Iranians in Cannes have made veiled comments, which were subsequently unveiled...

Tonight, Ms. Satrapi herself added to her first comment by saying: Although, as I said, this film shows events that could happen to anyone in the world -- that one's life be affected by a revolution, a war... this particular story happened in Iran and I dedicate this award to all the Iranians.

Thanks Marjane!

PS: Kiarostami's contribution to the film in honour of the 60th Anniversary of the Festival was about women. Every single one of them would have been stopped in the street for bad hijab...

Under the Skin of the City

When I saw this title on ISNA's photo gallery, I was drawn because of the lasting impression the film had left on me. And then, once again in a span of a week, I was too taken not to write about it, and yet, I can only put links to the photos of drug addicts taken in Southern Tehran.

A story not to tell

What I admire most in Marjane Satrapi, aside from her talent, is her audacity. She has consistently broken Iranian taboos and written about things that should not be spoken of, of all the hypocrisy: like revealing that as an adolescent, she did drugs, like talking about "reconstructed" virginities. I know that many Iranians were offended.

And now she is making a film. The NY Times piece is already archived, but there is a good article and also a short video, both in French.

An Iranian Giant

This is one of the most breath-taking shots I have ever seen in a film, and I am sorry that this picture does not relay well the feeling one gets when seen on a screen.

Of course, you know that Bahram Beyzaie is my favourite (as can be seen from the link on the right), but I was glad to read that although he is (and has been for many years) censored in Iran, this remarkable Iranian artist, combining being a director, a playwright, a poet and so much more, has finally received the acknowledgment that his work deserves.

Morning dew

Last week end Shabnam Tolouie had three performances in Paris: a play called "L'Entretien". I heard goods things about it. But it is very impressive in any case, because the play was in French. How talented must one be to be able to succesfully go on stage merely 18 months after having left Iran...

All the links are in Persian, I am afraid. The only film she is known for outside Iran is this and the only (small) bio I could find is here.

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(two days later....)

The entry on Wiki is with a different spelling... sorry...