Chess of the Wind
2021 French theatrical release poster
Directed byMohammad Reza Aslani
Written byMohammad Reza Aslani
Produced byBahman Farmanara
Starring
CinematographyHoushang Baharloo
Edited byAbbas Ganjavi
Music bySheida Gharachedaghi
Distributed byJanus Films (international)
Release date
  • November 1976 (1976-11) (Tehran)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian

Chess of the Wind (Persian: شطرنج باد, romanized: Shatranj-e Baad), also titled The Chess Game of the Wind, is a 1976 Iranian film written and directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani.[1] The film was screened only once before the 1979 revolution in Iran and was accompanied by a negative reception. After being rediscovered in 2020, the film was released in different countries and was well received.[2]

Synopsis

In an aristocratic family, the head of the family - Khanom Bozorg - dies. Her heir is Khanom Kouchak, a paralyzed woman. There is a dispute between the Khanom Kouchak, the maid, the nanny and the stepfather's nephews over the possession of the family wealth.[3]

Cast

Shohreh Aghdashloo in Chess of the Wind.

Aslani cited Johannes Vermeer as an inspiration for daytime scenes and Georges de La Tour as inspiration for the nighttime scenes. Georges de La Tour's use of central light sources in his paintings, as well as his willingness to have portions of the painting either over- or under-exposed, intrigued him. Aslani also referenced Barry Lyndon's approach to light, but stressed that he and Kubrick are different directors with different attitudes. Chess of the Wind includes film tinting reminiscent of some silent films.[6]

Reception

Hossein Eidizadeh wrote in Lola Journal:

From marvelous camera movements, to every tiny prop purposefully set in the corners of the frame. You understand how important mise en scène is for this director who loves Max Ophüls. The story is very simple: the decadence of a family in the Qajar dynasty of Iran. Aslani is one of the most neglected Iranian filmmakers – not only outside Iran, but also in his homeland. A prolific documentarist who has made only two fiction films (the second, Green Fire [2008], was bashed by critics, which is hardly surprising), Aslani is a filmmaker who tells the most Iranian stories with the elegant technique of Ophüls or Visconti. His movies are eloquent, hard to digest. However, it takes only 15 minutes to succumb to The Chess Game of the Wind. With the first dinner gathering of the family of the deceased mother (crippled daughter, her step father, her uncle, her maid), through mise en scène, the power dynamic of the story unfolds. You grasp that this story of fighting over a great deal of money is only a pretext for deeper social and cultural comment. The film foretells the Iranian Revolution and remains riveting – not only because of its story and hidden layers, but also because it is one of the rarest Iranian films that, while in debt to German Expressionism and Visconti’s operatic, narrative tools, is rooted in Iranian painting and frame composition. That’s why the film is truly the Holy Grail of Iranian cinephiles – and a mesmerising one."[7]

Rediscovery

The original negatives were presumed lost, yet rediscovered by the director's children in a junk shop in 2014. Reception was positive after a restored film was screened in 2020. Robin Baker, head curator of the BFI National Archive said it will "impact" the "world film canon". Baker praised its "ambition", finding it "shocking" and unique in relation to film as well as Iranian culture.[1]

As of 2021, Janus Films currently owns the North American distribution rights to the film.[8]

The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection in September of 2022 as part of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project series.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dunning, John Harris (30 September 2020). "'Audiences won't have seen anything like this': how Iranian film Chess of the Wind was reborn". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "شطرنج باد؛ چگونه اسکورسیزی و لوکاس فیلم کلاسیک ایرانی را احیا کردند". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "فیلم شطرنج باد (1355) | سلام‌سینما". www.salamcinama.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "THE CHESS GAME OF THE WIND". 2020 San Diego Asian Film Festival. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. ↑ ".: Iranian Movie DataBase فيلم شطرنج باد :". www.sourehcinema.com. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "A Conversation about Chess of the Wind". Wexner Center for the Arts.
  7. ↑ Eidizadeh, Hossein. "Two Dollar Movie, Part 1". www.lolajournal.com. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Chess of the Wind". Janus Films. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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