Oppression can be a truly galvanising force for creative types. Back in the 90s Iranian cinema surprised everyone with its freshness and formal audacity. And now comes another totally unexpected gift from them, a remarkably vibrant and varied underground scene in Tehran with everything from indie rockers to rappers and beyond, presented in this infectious new film from Bahman Ghobadi (who also did A Time For Drunken Horses and Turtles Can Fly), starring people from the bands themselves.
Structured more or less like a series of music videos and live footage of the various bands and singer-songwriters in action, hung around a loose but ultimately moving narrative, this is a hugely entertaining and accessible film (even for those of you who hate subtitled movies). You won’t find this in Malaysian cinemas, yes, but we’re pretty sure you’ll manage to find it just fine from other ‘channels’.
Check out the trailer below:
