House Is Black / The School That Was Blown Away / Images From the Qajar Dynasty (DVD)

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Both directors consider Farrokzhad, and "The House is Black," a primary influence on their work. This influence is best seen in Kiarostami´s 1999 masterpiece "The Wind Will Carry Us," also the title of a Farrokzhad poem. In a pivotal scene, the main character enters a darkened a room in which a woman shrouded in darkness reads the poem in its entirety. Kiarostami didn´t have to explain to Iranian viewers why the words were powerful; they were powerful because they were Farrokzhad´s words

The second reason, of course, is the possibility of war looming between the United States and Iran. We see so little of this country halfway across the globe that it´s easy to dismiss it as somewhat unreal or at least only half-real, seen only in decontextualized clips on CNN or Fox. That makes it much easier to say "Let´s bomb ´em all back to the stone age!" "They" aren´t real to us anyway. I suggest that cinema can remedy this situation, at least partially. Watch a Kiarostami film, watch a Makhmalbaf film, watch "The House is Black" and then let´s see if anyone can still say that.

I first read about "The House is Black" in an essay by Jonathan Rosenbaum, the critic for the Chicago Reader and my choice for the best critic in the business. It sounded wonderful, but I always figured it would remain one of those elusive, unseen gems. Besides, it could never live up to Rosenbaum´s praise. Now it´s on DVD, partially due to the efforts of Rosenbaum (showing that a critic really can make a difference) and I´ve gotten the chance to see it. As you´ve figured out by now, I wasn´t disappointed.

Farrokzhad died tragically in a car accident at the age of 33, but she left behind both her poetry and this unique film. "The House is Black" is a masterpiece of world cinema. As a great short documentary, it deserves a place of honor alongside "Land Without Bread" or "Night and Fog." How can a film about a leper colony, a film that warns us it is about ugliness, be so beautiful? I don´t know; that´s the magic of film, at least of this film. I can´t explain it any better than that. Just do yourself a favor, just see it. I promise you won´t forget the experience.

Video:

The DVD is presented in fullscreen 1.33:1 ratio. As you might guess, this print wasn´t preserved in pristine condition. The film has scratches and dirt on it, but the beauty of the black and white photography still shows admirably. The white subtitles are sometimes difficult to read against the higher contrast backdrops, but you don´t have to strain too badly. There´s at least one shot (a few seconds) missing, probably from a censor´s scissors. We´re used to nearly perfect transfers from many DVD companies; what we have here is the best copy available in the U.S. and that´s all we can ask for.

Audio:

The DVD is presented in a mono track (the package skimps on all the technical information.) The sound is rough in patches but that actually seems to help the experience, especially in the quieter scenes. English subtitles support the audio.

Extras:

The DVD also includes two short films (26 min. total running time) by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, "The School That Was Blown Away" (1996) and the "Images from the Qajar Dynasty" (1992). The first is a neat little feature about a group of schoolchildren who go to school in a tent after their school was blown away. The second requires a little knowledge of Iranian history (more than I have) to fully appreciate. It´s a compilation film which includes the very first scenes ever filmed in Iran. It becomes increasingly more abstract and poetic as it continues and the ending is both enigmatic and lovely.

There is also a short interview with Forough´s sister Pooran, an excerpt from a longer PBS documentary. It´s interesting but we only get a few minutes which left me rather frustrated. Maybe the full program will be made available elsewhere.

A no-frills Xeroxed booklet includes several very informative essays by Rosenbaum, Chris Marker and Susan Doll.

Closing Thoughts:

I could probably take up another twenty pages analyzing the film shot by shot, trying to understand what makes it so effective. Instead, I´ll rest my case as is and hope that you decide to take a chance on something very different and, I believe, very rewarding.

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