Mohsen Makhmalbaf ’s Non-Iranian Films

Abstract

The article studies Mohsen Makhmalbaf ’s films made outside Iran. The cult Iranian film director of the 1990s was forced to leave the country in 2005 for political reasons, which radically changed the character of his work. The author states that the phenomenal success of his films was largely predicated on the revolutionary phase in Iranian history, but the coveted freedom from fundamentalist restrictions seems to prevent the director from attaining the same heights.
The turbulent times of the 1980s and 1990s – the Islamic Revolution and the tragedy of the Iran-Iraq war – fueled Makhmalbaf 's creative energy, but when the revolutionary chaos gave way to civilian life, he changed from a rebel into a traveler, from a revolutionary into a humanist.
Outside Iran, Makhmalbaf has tried himself in various genres: a philosophical parable (“Sex and Philosophy”, 2005; “Scream of the Ants”, 2006), a documentary (“The Gardener”, 2012), an action film (“The President”, 2014) and a drama (“Marghe and Her Mother”, 2019). Each new film was made in a different country, which to an extent shows Makhmalbaf 's interest in other cultures, but his explorations appear too superficial, and conclusions are too banal to hold the viewer’s attention.
Nevertheless, his film “The President” stands out among his émigré works and reveals the director’s potential to successfully work in the genre of a suspense and satire, which is completely uncharacteristic for him. The release of the movie coincided with several political upheavals in the world.
However the numerous historical allusions in the film are too universal to emotionally affect the audience, so the conclusion is that arrogance, opportunism and incompetence of political leadership will continue to create instability and despair in the XXI century. Makhmalbaf ’s determination to work in different countries around the world emphasizes the process of creative search, which is not completed and shows no consistent trend so far.