Ragbar

I finally got around and watched the restored Criterion version of this famous Iranian movie, after reading about it almost in every movie magazine or reference to it in film articles during my entire life and it was extremely disappointing at best!

The jump-cuts, extreme close-ups and editing may looked avangard at the time, but upon recent viewing, they serve no purpose at all, as if you are watching a set of scenes awkwardly pieced together. The attempted humor and love story is as flat as a pancake on a Monday morning. Only the opening scene has some gravity to it and soon after the downfall begins.

The scene in which the teacher goes to the principal house to meet his daughter is the most ridiculous and idiotic on all levels with horrible acting, cheesiest dialogues (noise) and the most ambiguous directing I have ever seen. The side haracters like that fiancé of the girl and the drinking scene at the bar are just awful and cartoonish.

I have watched maybe 7000 movies in my life from almost all countries, and I really wanted to like this ''masterpiece'', but it turned out just worthless. Seriously, I feel embarrassed that this garbage has got all the recognition in Iranian Cinema in a time that movies like Straw Digs were on screens worldwide. But I'm sure some beardy artsy looking dude with glasses might come attacking my review screaming that I didn't ''Understand'' it. OK Boomer. You win.

"Ragbar" is a stellar achievement, especially given it's early place in Iranian cinema. It is a story of a teacher who comes to a new town and falls in love with a girl who is to be wed to a wealthy butcher. The plot is well paced and the storytelling is brilliant. Not only is it touching and funny at the same time, but it is made with a remarkable amount of cinematic wit. If you can get a hold of it, it is a must see.

I should call this movie a romantic movie, a romance between two people with nice people around them. We have no Romeo And Juliette in this film. Everyone is nice, all the people of the city are happy, there is only a tragedy and its competitive love. The children made this film like a children movie and let me tell you that school is such a important feature for representing the lovers and their romance. Parviz Fannizadeh is my favorite Iranian actor and he played his role nicely attractive. He won the best leading role of the year from the main film festival of Iran before the Islamic Revolution, Sepas Film Festival. The film is Bahrain Beyzayi's second cinematic experience and it was really good and critically acclaimed, even tho it wasn't a successful commercially. It has so many scenes that I didn't like and I prefer to remove from the script but it's Beyzayi and his special scenarios. Even tho I think that it was a good film generally... .

This movie is the second movie of Bahram Beizai the best Iranian director.When I found the VCD version of this movie I somehow hesitated to watch it,despite the fact that I love Beizaie's work.Eventually,I watched it and boy I enjoyed it a lot.

Mr.Hekmati(Parviz Fanizade) a single and innocent young teacher arrives at an area in down town Tehran,where he starts teaching.One day he throws one of the students out of the class and there the story begins.Atie(Parvaneh Masoumi) who supports his brother and mother comes to school to ask from Mr.Hekmati that why he has thrown her brother out of the class.Then,somehow love at the first sight happens,but Hekmati keeps denying it.This is not the end of the story because there is a man who helps Atie gives her money and keep asking her to marry him.

The ending of this movie is great.I recommend this movie to all those people who love artistic movies.

Welldone Beizai.

As the movie begins, Mr Hekmati is clumsily completing the move of his personal belongings (which include absurdly large family photos) to his new modest quarters. He is a schoolteacher and has been assigned to the local school. He looks like an intellectual out of a Godard movie including thick frame carey glasses. He sticks out in the town like a sore thumb and arouses the curiosity of his new neighbors.

For the rest of the movie we are witnesses to his uneasy interaction with his neighbors and with the principal and colleagues at school. They (as Mr Hekmati) are not sure about the reasons for his transfer. His students are unruly at the beginning but mutual confidence develops after a while. He becomes involved with Atieh, the sister of one of his pupils. Atieh struggles to care for her old and ailing mother and insure an education for her brother. To complicate things, she suffers the attentions of a local tough, a big man in town.

This is one of the movies that started the torrent that made Iran a powerhouse of world cinema. However, it has little to do with the subjects and feelings in the works of later directors like Kiarostami, Panahi or Makhmalbaf. Downpour evokes various genres such as American romantic comedies (with a touch of screwball), Italian neorealist movies but especially the quirky output of the Czechoslovak New Wave.

This work had a troubled history. The negative and all copies were seized in 1979 by state authorities and never heard of again, probably destroyed or lost in some obscure archive. Fortunately, the director kept a positive and the copy we stream is an excellent restoration by the World Cinema Project of Martin Scorses's The Film Foundation.

It is difficult to find fault with this film. Script (by the director) is witty and acting and cinematography are excellent . Perhaps the subject matter is not enough to justify a length of more than two hours.