A poetic and stunninglyeffective documentary.
To follow my first 'Documentary Month' review, here is another lauded and highly influential film from Iran, however with a radically different style and purpose.
This film is a beautifully shot and stunningly empathetic work from a director who was not even a filmmaker by trade. Forugh Farrokhzad, mostly know for her highly influential poetry, hand crafted this stunning insight into a leper colony.
The film features some of the most ingenious editing and cinematography I have seen in a documentary like this. There are some stunning and heartbreaking shots of the inhabitants of the colony, showing the suffering and pain of these people with a bold rawness, uncommon for the time of the film's release.There are several moments where the film drifts from documenting the subject in question, and instead begins to poetically muse the nature of humanity through the visuals. This film is undoubtedly the product of a highly unique and distinct artistic voice, who tragically died far too young to continue this raw expression.
The documentary weaves its way through a number of themes within it's brief runtime. Spirituality, hope, beauty and various other ideas, whilst also describing and showcasing the intense struggles felt by the inhabitants of this odd community. The high-reaching thematic elements and the educational information blend together fantastically.The film crafts these themes through a combination of lovely narration, from the director herself, and the film's aforementioned excellent editing. By intercuting shots of elderly sufferers of the disease to children, the audience is given a sense of the wide and indiscriminate nature of the disease. Touches like this are what makes this film a masterpiece of poetic realism in my eyes. So much is conveyed with so very little.
In conclusion, the film is a little miracle. This film can be credited with planting the roots which would later bloom into the Iranian new wave, and is often though as the earliest true masterpiece of Iranian cinema. I am most reminded of the classic 1930's film Freaks when I think of this film. A strange, poetic and thoroughly engrossing voyage into a relatable yet alien world, I would recommend both films highly. The House is Black is available on YouTube for free, in good quality (however the subs are a little tough to read at times) and I would highly recommend it.
By Jack D. Phillips
A Zoom Film Review
Documentary Month 2015 #2
The documentary weaves its way through a number of themes within it's brief runtime. Spirituality, hope, beauty and various other ideas, whilst also describing and showcasing the intense struggles felt by the inhabitants of this odd community. The high-reaching thematic elements and the educational information blend together fantastically.The film crafts these themes through a combination of lovely narration, from the director herself, and the film's aforementioned excellent editing. By intercuting shots of elderly sufferers of the disease to children, the audience is given a sense of the wide and indiscriminate nature of the disease. Touches like this are what makes this film a masterpiece of poetic realism in my eyes. So much is conveyed with so very little.
In conclusion, the film is a little miracle. This film can be credited with planting the roots which would later bloom into the Iranian new wave, and is often though as the earliest true masterpiece of Iranian cinema. I am most reminded of the classic 1930's film Freaks when I think of this film. A strange, poetic and thoroughly engrossing voyage into a relatable yet alien world, I would recommend both films highly. The House is Black is available on YouTube for free, in good quality (however the subs are a little tough to read at times) and I would highly recommend it.
By Jack D. Phillips
A Zoom Film Review
Documentary Month 2015 #2
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