Iran cinema, noted for its social dramas, finds foothold among audience in comedy
Social dramas have made Iranian films and their directors renowned at international festivals such as Cannes, but at home it’s comedy that sells and has long been the favoured genre.
There are around 750 screens in the Islamic republic, and going to the movies is a preferred leisure activity for people seeking distraction from often difficult daily lives.
An Iranian film may be in competition at this year’s Cannes, but it was comedy that monopolised the top six box office places in the Iranian year 20232024 that ended in March.
“These films offer a simple plot and structure that make them accessible to everyone,” movie critic Houshang Golmakani said.
Generic formula
It’s a generic formula that works well and generally has stereotypical characters — pretty women, young people wanting a better life, a “Don Juan” and clumsy pious men.
Take one of the big successes of the past few months, the comedy Hotel.
This film tells the tale, replete with misunderstandings and mixups, of a man who hides his fiancee from his former wife so he can borrow money from his ex’s aunt.
It was filmed on the island of Kish, where Iranians like to recharge their batteries in a relaxed setting inspired by Dubai just a 12hour ferry ride across the Gulf.
Hotel was seen by 6.2 million people, but even it was overtaken by Fossil which, at 7.5 million, became one of the topviewed movies in the history of Iranian cinema.
Fossil chronicles the adventures of a group of musicians before and after the Islamic revolution of 1979, after which pop music was banned for more than two decades.
It plays on nostalgia for the golden age of popular music by covering hits sung by actors resembling Iranian stars of the 1950s to 1980s, many of whom went into exile in the U.S.
Fossil was not a hit with Iran’s ultraconservatives and did not make them laugh.
Kayhan raged that it newspaper promoted
Shahera culture, “promiscuity” and “Westernisation”, and urged officials to “block the cultural influence of enemies” on younger generations.
Many Iranian comedies use satire to criticise the inflexibility of the country’s rulers towards young people. Dynamite recounts the setbacks of two Shia seminarians who move into a flat and become neighbours with a cannabis dealer and two young female Instagram influencers.
The directors obey the restrictions imposed by the Islamic republic: women should wear hijab head scarves, men and women must not touch each other and alcohol cannot be shown.
But that does not prevent them from mocking official cultural values such as “protecting the family at all costs”, said Mr. Golmakani, adding that such movies “end without really harming these values”.
The authorities tolerate comedies because “they respond to the needs of the population”, the critic added.
Iran’s cinemagoing public has few choices because of the low number of foreign productions, particularly Hollywood movies, shown locally.
The country is also subject to international sanctions and has no diplomatic relations with the U.S.
People can also see serious works by, among others, Asghar Farhadi, Oscarwinning director of A Separation, and Saeed Roustaee who made Law of Tehran.
But three 2022 films that drew international acclaim — Leila’s Brothers, World War III, and Beyond the
Wall — were not allowed to be screened, meaning enthusiasts had to download them.
The Iranian film in competition at Cannes this year, The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof, will not be shown at home as its director fled abroad after being given a prison sentence.
Mr. Golmakani believes that the success of comedies pushes producers to favour the box office to the detriment of social dramas, which are “increasingly marginalised” at a “time when costs are increasing”.
“The excessive production of comedies affects the overall quality of Iranian cinema,” he said.