Ever since the start of the Iran war, I've been binging Persian cinema. I was completely unaware of how absolutely kino it is, it's just one impressive film after another. Forget Japan vs Korean cinema autism, the real mystery is how Iran is able to shame mainland Chinese cinema so completely in every possible way, it doesn't make any sense to me.
>>218583190It doesn't make sense to you because you've been conditioned to believe Iranians are not highly cultured and civilised. It makes sense once you realize Iranian culture is sophisticated and the Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.
one of the oldest civilizations in the world, telling complex and beautiful stories for centuriesthey dont get the "exotic foreigner" cache that east asian gets, they get racism similar to what indian film gets
>>218583372>It doesn't make sense to you because you've been conditioned to believe Iranians are not highly cultured and civilised.Aye, this is true. It is due to my own ignorance, which I am currently mending. And as penance, I'm making this thread so that other retards like me will be able to experience the sheer joy of Iranian cinema.>It makes sense once you realize Iranian culture is sophisticated and the Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.I'm not a fan of Mohammedanism and I'm not sure how much it reflects core Persian values.>>218583380>one of the oldest civilizations in the world, telling complex and beautiful stories for centuriesI mean, I have to agree. The sheer sophistication of Iranian cinema is just mind blowing. It's like they have their own little Ozus and Kurosawas hidden over there. Just stunning cinema. >they dont get the "exotic foreigner" cache that east asian gets, they get racism similar to what indian film getsI don't agree at all. Iran feels like the last real mysterious land. There are some other countries here and there, but Iran is definitely the last big one. China ceased to be mysterious, it presented itself loudly on the world stage to a polarised audience. Likewise India used to be the mystical Orient until someone gave them online access and we all collectively discovered that smell could apparently be carried over on the Internet.
>>218583190>the real mystery is how Iran is able to shame mainland Chinese cinemamainland china has never put out a good film, i've watched a good 15-20 of them over the years, not a single one is better than pre-2014 hong kong.
>>218583661>Mohammedanism and I'm not sure how much it reflects core Persian values.It doesn't. Muslim are prohibited from watching and making movies because visual arts are haram. Shia muslims get a pass only because contrary to Arabs they had a culture before Islam (which actually ended up influencing a few core beliefs of islam that are not in the quran or the hadith) but the one reason why Iranian cinema didn't end after the revolution was because the imam loved this weird little movie about the love story between a farmer and his cow so he personally gave a pass to the artform. It's why Iranian cinema is so weird and unique being all meta and fourth wall breaking. It's a way to get past prohibitions from islam
>>218584953ASH IS PUREST WHITE, nigga
>>218584953I like Zhang Yumou
>>218584953>i've watched a good 15-20Wow i didn't realise you went to so much effort lol
>>218583190The only ones ive seen are Asghar Farhadi's, but they've all been excellent.
>>218585410>It's why Iranian cinema is so weird and unique being all meta and fourth wall breaking.I'm still on my journey going through Persian cinema, but I would say this is true of Abbas Kiarostami but not so much of Majid Majidi. Kiarostami is an inveterate rule breaker, it's almost self-indulgent. Majidi does these really humanist films like The Song of Sparrows, Children of Paradise, etc. that are very traditional in their scriptwriting but manage to capture the simple, the humble and the infinite dignity of human existence. Majidi's body of work is much more overtly Mohammedan but not in a bothersome way, I have to say; this would probably be what Christian media would be like if we weren't being ruled by satanic aliens that feed on human children. Can't imagine the Ayatollah didn't love Majidi.Finally, there's Jafar Panahi, who won the Palm d'Or last year with his It Was Just An Accident film. I must say that I started watching it very suspiciously given the way they were marketing the movie as some kind of stunning and brave anti-regime movie. But to my surprise it actually felt like real guerrilla cinema but without the typical cynicism and mean-spiritedness of Western film making. So yeah, it wasn't Israeli propaganda, it was just something very sincere and human, something lived and something painful, but never to the point of dehumanising or abstracting.Shit, I'm really falling in love with those sandniggers. Their cinema feels like such a breath of fresh air.
>>218584953I'm 100% with you on there. Mainland Chinese cinema sucks so many balls. Even if you manage to catch a pearl, the volume of trash you need to sift through just doesn't make sense.I'm still trying to figure out why /tv/ fell unironically for the Korean cinema meme. But even that is incomparably better than Chinese cinema.
>>218586137I mean, every Korean film I have seen was great and puts to shame the modern output of the west but in the context of cinema as a whole the only one that I think is worthy of a mention is Memories of Murder. China is a dystopian dictatorship, its stands to reason there is little room for artistic expression.
>>218586367Look, it doesn't matter how shit I think Korean cinema is (very). China is a dystopian dictatorship, but so is fucking Iran, and their cinema is some of the best I've seen in many, many years. So what is their excuse exactly? They have ten times the population and are much wealthier.
Just a couple of months ago a new metro station in Iran was named after the virgin Mary and blessed by the Iranian cardinal. You wont catch me praising any hardline Islamic regime but the situation isnt as black and white as we are generally led to believe.
>>218585968you don't know how hard it is to sit through that pointless garbage over and over.
>>218586137>I'm still trying to figure out why /tv/ fell unironically for the Korean cinema meme.if you like late 90s/early 00s hollywood such as matrix/fight club, you'll like 2003+ korean cinema.their movie theaters started showing hollywood films in 00 just at the right moment to catch peak hollywood so all their stuff is basically inspired by that.
>>218583190>''Japan vs Korean cinema autism''>it's basically just mutts and gooks spamming shit and shitting on japan like retardsit's all so tiresome
>>218586657One of my main problems with Chinese cinema is that their language is really grating, it actually hurts to hear them speak. It's hard to believe humans can produce such unpleasant sounds. No wonder their camouflage their gacha trash with anime aesthetics and Japanese dubbing, shit would be unmarketable otherwise. Wake me up when China develops an actual identity of their own and their cinema is worthy watching.
>>218586753>One of my main problems with Chinese cinema is that their language is really grating, it actually hurts to hear them speak.chinese, arabic and french are all disgusting to my ears.
>>218586742>and shitting on japan like retardsjaps put out 1 film worth watching every 2-3 years.shoplifters > drive my car > rental family, that's the last 6-7 years of jap films worth watching.
>>218586698Oldboy has cool scenes and all and has a really iconic soundtrack, but it's a really cynical film that doesn't understand the preciousness and rarity of human life. And this is probably the second best Korean movie I've ever seen. Parasite is just Korean Joker but actually worse, people just fell for the meme because it was filmed using a Nokia and the final edit was made on a 2004 Thinkpad or whatever the fuck. But even this is better than any Chinese slop I've ever scene that wasn't made in Hong Kong or Taiwan.
>>218586787Rental Family was a bad movie. And I have no idea who the director is even supposed to be, that shit feels like it was ghostwritten by some Western transplant trying to avoid another Wim Wenders situation when they slapped him with the Sophia Coppola rule and (rightfully) explained to him that Perfect Days was not a Japanese film.Drive My Car (more like FUCK MY WIFE) was probably the only truly great Japanese film I've seen in almost a decade that wasn't anime. Speaking of which, even bringing up Miyazaki would be cheating, since The Boy and the Heron is a much more sublime filmic experience than anything Korea has ever produced. Ever.
>>218586837>but it's a really cynical filmthat's basically what you're goning to find from all the best korean films, they have a real focus on revenge and do it better than anyone else.what's the best korean film you've seen in your opinion?
>>218586971>The Boy and the Heron is a much more sublime filmic experience than anything Korea has ever produced. Ever.gr8b8m8
>>218583190Yeah
>>218586983The Wailing. Just because it's actually cryptocatholic propaganda and the Japanese guy is in fact literally Satan. And almost everyone gets fucked up because they never thought about praying a Hail Mary. I know it sounds like I'm making fun of the film, but I genuinely think it's great cinema.
>>218587056>Japanese guy is in fact literally Satanehh not quite, asians have a lot of gods/folklore stuff.he's just another random demon fucking shit up, with the help of the shaman.people really liked Exhuma which came out pretty recently, in the same vein as The Wailing with the supernatural stuff.if you like mid 00s indie films in general, would highly recommend watching Breathless(2008), it's my personal favorite korean film. the writer/director/main actor did such a great job, and the female lead gave such a great performance she got a few awards for it.
>>218587245>ehh not quite, asians have a lot of gods/folklore stuff.Yeah, but the director is actually Catholic. So I know what he's doing and I fully approve. Appreciate the recommendations, brother. I will check them out after my Persian binge.
>>218583372>and the Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.Tell that to Jafar Panahi and even Kiarostami
>>218587328if you like the religion aspect, would throw Thirst(2009) on the watch list as well, a Priest gets turned into a vampire.
>>218583190Watched (picrel) in high school. I thought was boring as fuck then. But I am wondering whether I'd feel the same now that Imma adoolt.
>>218583190>>218587458We also watched (picrel) though in the same high school class. And it was kino.
>>218587401The thing is that it's really hard to find an actual film that is both religiously sincere and good. Something simply having priests means very little. Silence might seem like a great religious film from the outside, but if you're in the know then you're wise to Scorsese's subversions, how he couldn't simply adapt Shusaku Endo's deeply Catholic and painfully Japanese novel without inserting his own bullshit struggle sessions with Catholicism which he has been trying to rationalise since The Last Temptation. It's incredibly frustrating.The Vatican actually has a nice list of recommendations.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican's_list_of_films
>>218587458I literally watched that today and I cried like it was Pride Month. That movie is so fucking great. A friend of mine said it best: the best cinema is when you can capture an audience with a story that is apparently very low stakes.I would highly recommend you rewatch that film, even knowing fully that the director Majid Majidi is a regime darling. It's actual cinema, it's not insulting and it isn't cynical in any way.
>>218583372>the Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.Once again Islamists taking credit for things they had nothing to do with. >The education standards were already skyrocketing during the Pahlavi dynasty >which made public education mandatory >to what was then a mostly agrarian illiterate society.>They even gave full scholarships to almost all Persian students headed to international universities>mostly ones headed toward what Khomeini was then calling the Great Satan
>>218583190drop a list of some kinos to check out
>>218583190Picrel had been in my queue for 12 years. But I keep pushing it back to watch other things instead.>Is it overrated, underrated, or properly rated
>>218586137>>218586367>>218586698I am old enough to remember when every Korean, both national and diaspora shilled (picrel). Because it was the first Korean movie to get a wide North American release. So it was a matter of Korean pride.
>>218587687From what little I've seen so far:>Directed by Majid Majidi (regime approved):>Song Of Sparrows (2008)>The Children of Heaven (1997)>Directed by Jafar Panahi (NOT regime approved):>It Was Just an Accident (2005)>The White Balloon (1995)>Directed by Abbas Kiarostami (sometimes regime approved??):>Taste of Cherry (1997)>Where Is the Friend's House? (1987) (part 1 of the Koker trilogy)>Through the Olive Trees (1992) (part 2 of the Koker trilogy)>Life and Nothing More (1994) (part 3 of the Koker trilogy)As you can see, I still have a lot of Persian cinema to enjoy. But I haven't seen one single bad film so far. It's real cinema in every regard. It feels human, unlike Korean slop, and it's very comparable to stuff like Japanese Golden Age directors like Yasujiro Ozu.
>>218587794never heard of this one and i have friends who live in korea that tell me to watch movies/dramas.
>>218587723Just watched the trailer and thought it looks like slop. Also, the Wikipedia article is grim.
>>218587914D-War is schlock slop. Maybe Asylum tier.
Watched The Stranger and the Fog today. Incredible images. I love Iran.
>>218583190The Death of Yazdgerd (1982) is one of the greatest films of all time, written by the "Iranian Shakespeare" Bahram Beyzai. I only just found out he died a few months ago, sucks that we'll probably never get the film in higher quality than a VHS rip (though it does raise the question of where the fuck this still came from, was it just a promotional still?)
A time for drunken horses (2000)
>>218583190This movie is such a nothinburger.
>>218588789Them's fighting words.
>>218588997Not really. You can't defend it, you can only feign pompous annoyance.
>>218587245>the writer/director/main actor did such a great job,Why didn't he make another kino after that?
>>218589199it was his passion project, a story he felt finally needed to be told about korean boys abusive relationships with their fathers.he still does act and isn't bad but i don't think he has another indie kino story in him
>>218589164No, I genuinely thought it was a great film. Kiarostami likes his scenes long, it's a patient film and you need to go at its pace. The subject matter is very scandalous, particularly in Iran I would imagine, but it honestly doesn't feel like it's being transgressive just to be transgressive, it's just relatable and human. Kiarostami was very sensible in not revealing what was tormenting the main character because that would make us judge him instead of reasoning alongside him. There's this really interesting procession of characters who all affect the protagonist to some degree which we're left to speculate, and the final scene is this very fun meta comment on film making, which disarms the incredible tension of the main objective of the film very deliberately; suicide is a major taboo, so this is not a story that could probably be told as the director wanted it too, so in the end he simply reminds us that this is just fiction printed on tape, it's something intentional and observational but never truly real.I thought it was a really great film. I'm still thinking about it.
>>218589559>so this is not a story that could probably be told as the director wanted it tooSo the movie is a failure?
>>218589640Hm, that's a good question. I suppose that it depends, I can't read the director's heart. It just made me smile and appreciate the movie even more. And I liked the ambiguity, I don't believe this sort of story necessitated finality, much like we didn't need to know what was tormenting Mr. Badi.
>>218589656You don't know the characters and you don't know what the director meant to do, so how can you say the director was even honest? The entire movie is so detached and cold, and when so little happens in it, that doesn't help it. Sounds like you're just saying "it's the bones maaaan" and the meta ending is good just because it provides ambiguity.
>>218589782I don't think I'm able to answer that question. I can only speak plainly of what I thought about the film. The director's heart, as I said, is something that I cannot read. And frankly, there are a lot of things about this movie that I find profoundly mysterious, probably because I lack the cultural context. For example, why cruise around for someone to bury you? Some cultures treat suicide as an troublesome imposition, so many in Japan just decide to disappear into the woods; some other cultures like the Tibetans see it pious to have the body left exposed by a mountainside so that birds and other creatures can pick at you; some cultures see this as desecration and do everything to keep the body unperturbed. Also, why not simply help a brother out? Is it because the dead are unclean and proximity to them is sinful? Or is it a legal matter where helping with the burial you make you an accomplice? There are many things I do not know.But I just find Taste of Cherry profoundly fascinating. As I said, I love the procession of characters. The boy soldier who operates based on the instinct of duty, who also reminds Mr. Badi of his own youth and his military service; the young seminarian who has more developed wisdom, who frustrates Mr. Badi immensely and makes him wrestle with God; the old professor who's experience makes him sympathetic but also very practical, and who reduces Mr. Badi to silence. Also, that fucking old man was the MVP, that Turkish joke had me rolling. Incidently, these men all represent a different place. I dunno the significance of this, but I thought it was an interesting aspect of the film. The Kurdish soldier, the Afghani seminarian, the Azerbaijani professor.I can't find a reason to hate this film, it was great to ride along Mr. Badi.
>>218589782>asking a godfag to explain anything tangiblekek
>>218583190Who do I watch after Kiarostami and Farhadi?
>>218590036I'd give Majidi a chance, anon.
>>218589964>For example, why cruise around for someone to bury you? Some cultures treat suicide as an troublesome imposition, so many in Japan just decide to disappear into the woods; some other cultures like the Tibetans see it pious to have the body left exposed by a mountainside so that birds and other creatures can pick at you; some cultures see this as desecration and do everything to keep the body unperturbed. Also, why not simply help a brother out? Is it because the dead are unclean and proximity to them is sinful? Or is it a legal matter where helping with the burial you make you an accomplice?I just find that you're talking a lot about something that doesn't need that many words to be explained. And you're just fascinated by "the mystery" which is incredibly shallow. Anyway, I find asking those questions can be valid but when the movie gives you nothing in return it's like just wandering about the many mysteries of life and nature. Really, all your praise boils down to "it's so mysterious and so foreign".
>>218590946>I just find that you're talking a lot about something that doesn't need that many words to be explained.I'm an ESL, so just assume I'm retarded. It's difficult for me to expose my opinions in English.>And you're just fascinated by "the mystery" which is incredibly shallow.Why is that? Why would it be shallow? Mystery was the reason why anime became popular in the West. It's sufficiently and credibly compelling.>Really, all your praise boils down to "it's so mysterious and so foreign".I gave you my reasons. I understand if you don't agree with them, but you're being silly in being so reductive.
>>218588085it's great at portraying the end times
>>218591095>Mystery was the reason why anime became popular in the WestUhh... no? And what does anime have to do with anything anyway?
>>218591445Because Japanese cultural sensibilities weren't immediately accessible.
>>218587007Imagine hating The Boy and the Heron.
>>218593484It's not great.
>>218583190>it's just one impressive film after anothergive me ten impressive iranian moviesi'll wait.
>>218593640I've only seen eight so far, so I can't give you ten. But every single one I saw was excellent.
>>218583190I've actually watched this boring slop, my friend brought it to movie night circa 2010
>>218594256ok give me eight then
>>218594350Here: >>218587869
>>218583190It is very good.
This is the most depressing movie ever made btw
>>218595337Melodrama?
>>218595438Yes, but it's about kids
>no one has mentioned The Pear Tree (1998)Honestly amazed that there is so much Iranian kino I can still recommend stuff after 74 replies. Great film on the wistful feeling of lost childhood love
>>218595464So it's slop.
>>218597488It's one of the rare movies where the kids' acting isn't total fucking shitIt's more incredible when you realize the kids were all real live Kurdish refugees living in camps during the 2003 Iraq War
>>218583190>the real mystery is how Iran is able to shame mainland Chinese cinema so completely in every possible way, it doesn't make any sense to me.It's no mystery, chinks are soulless creatures that can only copy others. They are unable to produce anything of value on their own.
>>218583372>Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.I bet majority of their filmmakers are dissidents and living abroad
>>218587723has one (1) nice sequence, if you enjoy looking at girlsfast forward through the rest>>218594594oh, missed that postI've seen the Kirostami ones, did not like themI've also seen Chess of the Wind (Shatranj-e baad), a lost film recently found at a flea market... looks great but also bores me... might interest you thoughnot really interested in the Jafar Panahi, looking at google images was enough for me lolmight check out the Majid Majidi movies, thanksI have no idea why middle easterners (and muslims in general), and asians (except the Japanese, who have the European Soul) have so much trouble making decent movies... applies to Israeli jews too, more or lessin my top200 favorite movies there is zero from said categories, and that makes me sadmaybe for them the cinema was the friends they made along the way... but that is no excuse for not making good movies lol
name one good Iranian movie
>>218598061plenty of great films out of korea, taiwan, hong kong, indonesia, phillipines, etc. It's really just China.
>>218583372has nothing to do with the movies' meritsthey lack the respect for private property which should be the main engine of a movie (otherwise you are left with what? weddings, funerals, and stale historical movies?)nobody is motivated to go in search for the lost or stolen goat when the town gathers and decides to give you TWO GOATS so you don't have to search for the one that disappeared... I'd rather follow the adventures of the goat if that is the case>It makes sense once you realize Iranian culture is sophisticated and the Islamic Revolution produced a high level of education for its people.no it does not because statistically, with a population of almost 100 million people, it amounted to zero movies in my top100 listand I like Persians, more or less>>218597818does not automatically solve the problem though, although Hedayat (friend of the pre-revolutionary regime) wrote enough stuff to entertain a movie director for a lifetime
>>218598324>plenty of great films out of korea, taiwan, hong kong, indonesia, phillipines, etc. It's really just China.the good Hong Kong movies were produced because they were under British rulethe rest are simply trash
>>218597611they invented powder, the printing press and ice cream you fat retard
>>218598947>they invented powderand did nothing with it, except blowing themselves upwhich would be totally okay if they did not become obsessed with guns when they got a whiff of that tech>the printing pressthat's commie propaganda, the printing press is good for nothing and western people invented woodcuts long beforethe innovation was movable type, which the chinese couldn't use efficiently anyway because they had too many characters (and still do)>ice creamyeah and water and fire too lolevery time somebody invents something the chinese come up and say "yes we invented that EIGHT THOUSAND YEARS AGO and here are some random scratches on a rock to prove it"it does not matter that they did jack shit with it (assuming it is true, which it ain't), what matters for them is that lying makes their tiny dick hard... just like torturing animalswhich is why they need to be stripped of all technology before they destroy nature completely
>>218598324There are enough mainland kino directors. Just because their movie industry is big and makes a lot of slop doesn't mean you should ignore the gems.
>>218585579Jia Zhangking
>>218599806it's slop all the way downit was founded on slopit's purpose is slopthey take pride in sloptheir lives are slop, and they are okay with it>>218598324>koreaslop>taiwanslop>hong kongslop>indonesiaslop>philipinesslop>chinaslop
>>218602479for me it's slop suey
>>218583190Abbas Kiarostami is BORING slop for wankers
>>218583190nahh that shits boring af dog, its always some trivial story about everyday people doing unremarkable things, while slapping some religious meaning on top of it, like "lets be proud of what we have and praise Allah!", or "lets be rightous men and look out for our brothers!"thats not refreshing or deep, its unoriginal, uninspired and lame, its the sign of a totallitarian backwards shithole
>>218602538tofu tofu
>>218602558>>218602653thisnot interested in arty farty nonsense
>>218598061
>>218598061>>218605652
>>218598061>>218605697
>>218587458I'll stick with the Korean version thanks https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hbb5GPxXF1w
