A Moving Picture of Tehran( A review on Granaz Moussavi's "My Tehran for Sale"
Unlike many other Iranian award-winning movies favoured by the western festivals, exploring either the rural life , illiteracy, tribal conflicts or poverty, Granaz Moussavi's "My Tehran for Sale" is a unique tale revealing all the secrets and mysteries hidden behind the scene and it can be taken as a genuine and unswerving picture of this tumultous, contradictory and hectic lifestyle in Tehran conflicting the traditions of the past and the principles imposed by the authorities.
Alienating the cliches of Iranian films, Granaz Moussavi takes the initiative to disclose the drak cryptic undercovered story, eliminating the wrong image and illusions made by other filmmakers shadowing what really exists here.Honestly speaking I have never seen northern Tehran pictured by western news agencies.Life in the northern Tehran is posh, expensive,trendy and full of contradictions.Girls and boys racing cars, underground nightclubs and flashy , heavy make- up worn by young girls ,... compared to European standards people sound really loud here!
The image shown so far and the western camera has been accustomed to , no longer exists in the wealthy areas of Tehran where I live!
The couragous movie is opening a path to the reality behind the scene, in a policed society life has been watched under the surveillance camera, your personal life has been eavesdropped by the telecommunication centre, your artistic work has been scrutinised and banned, people stalking and spying on eachother for the sake of benefit they might take....
Stealthily and sneakily crowling into underground nightclubs , young boys and girls go on dating , experience sex at a very early age, practise whatsoever's been heated and controversial in the west.
The leading actress, Marzieh Vafamehr does quite an impressive job.Irreconcilable with her family traditions, challenging the guidlines dictated by the art and culture ministry, she has been drifted apart from the prevailing lifestyle. She practises perfomance art, sounds peculiar but been favourited by a group of avant-guard artists though unlicenced and questioned by drama administration in Iran.
But the tragic life of asylum seekers is nothing new. Not a new story, this has been what Iranians made quite a reputation over during this thirty years of Islamic regime.
The sudden rush of immigration, braindrain, the issues over political refugees has done enough harm to the society's welfare.
The film implies the current and contemporary Farsi sopken in the streets of Tehran mainly by the youth, a combination of slangs and collequial terms defying from the norms taught at schools or advertised on state TV or mass media.Some phrases and words coined and taken from high-tech equipment manuals or cyber terms used on the internet or a jargon jumbled by a salad of English and Persian as Iranian expatriates sometimes talk...
Apart from the music , the soundtrack is a mixture of all possible sounds you might hear in Tehran including religious grieving sounds, the call for praying pronounced by mosques, continuous honking of the horns of cars,people shouting at eachother , calling a taxi in the streets....
The landscape shown for several times in the film is the view from the foothills of the Alborz, the mountanious region covering the north country, what you could see from the northern neighbourhoods if you turn back...
Despite all these the city looks vigourous, sparkling electric lamps, highrise buildings , lengthy highways shows the contrasts of modern and traditional life.
The film is full of innovative momments , some frames are really gripping, the view of flowerpots overlooks from the top floor of a highrise building paralled at a time marzieh feels quite devasted in love, a leaf dropping into the gutters while trekking in northern alleys of Tehran, the symbolic lantern which starts the film, street market with its all attraction and Marzieh's trekking at Tehran's night....
Alienating the cliches of Iranian films, Granaz Moussavi takes the initiative to disclose the drak cryptic undercovered story, eliminating the wrong image and illusions made by other filmmakers shadowing what really exists here.Honestly speaking I have never seen northern Tehran pictured by western news agencies.Life in the northern Tehran is posh, expensive,trendy and full of contradictions.Girls and boys racing cars, underground nightclubs and flashy , heavy make- up worn by young girls ,... compared to European standards people sound really loud here!
The image shown so far and the western camera has been accustomed to , no longer exists in the wealthy areas of Tehran where I live!
The couragous movie is opening a path to the reality behind the scene, in a policed society life has been watched under the surveillance camera, your personal life has been eavesdropped by the telecommunication centre, your artistic work has been scrutinised and banned, people stalking and spying on eachother for the sake of benefit they might take....
Stealthily and sneakily crowling into underground nightclubs , young boys and girls go on dating , experience sex at a very early age, practise whatsoever's been heated and controversial in the west.
The leading actress, Marzieh Vafamehr does quite an impressive job.Irreconcilable with her family traditions, challenging the guidlines dictated by the art and culture ministry, she has been drifted apart from the prevailing lifestyle. She practises perfomance art, sounds peculiar but been favourited by a group of avant-guard artists though unlicenced and questioned by drama administration in Iran.
But the tragic life of asylum seekers is nothing new. Not a new story, this has been what Iranians made quite a reputation over during this thirty years of Islamic regime.
The sudden rush of immigration, braindrain, the issues over political refugees has done enough harm to the society's welfare.
The film implies the current and contemporary Farsi sopken in the streets of Tehran mainly by the youth, a combination of slangs and collequial terms defying from the norms taught at schools or advertised on state TV or mass media.Some phrases and words coined and taken from high-tech equipment manuals or cyber terms used on the internet or a jargon jumbled by a salad of English and Persian as Iranian expatriates sometimes talk...
Apart from the music , the soundtrack is a mixture of all possible sounds you might hear in Tehran including religious grieving sounds, the call for praying pronounced by mosques, continuous honking of the horns of cars,people shouting at eachother , calling a taxi in the streets....
The landscape shown for several times in the film is the view from the foothills of the Alborz, the mountanious region covering the north country, what you could see from the northern neighbourhoods if you turn back...
Despite all these the city looks vigourous, sparkling electric lamps, highrise buildings , lengthy highways shows the contrasts of modern and traditional life.
The film is full of innovative momments , some frames are really gripping, the view of flowerpots overlooks from the top floor of a highrise building paralled at a time marzieh feels quite devasted in love, a leaf dropping into the gutters while trekking in northern alleys of Tehran, the symbolic lantern which starts the film, street market with its all attraction and Marzieh's trekking at Tehran's night....
No comments have been added yet.
