Iranian Cinema: Game Forms in Film Dramatic Structure

Abstract

A pervasive category of human existence, the game underlies the birth of culture and art. But people create various game situations in ordinary life escaping to a parallel reality. The game is a goal in itself. It negates the determinism of the world. The inner mechanism of the playing area is indigenous. Being a game of the spirit, it has nothing to do with morality as well as with virtue or sin. The specific features of the game should be considered in terms of such aesthetic notions, as beauty, harmony, joy, tension, amusement, and the ecstatic involvement of the players. The erroneous treatment of the game as something insignificant apparently diminishes its role in the life of human society. Such an important feature of the game as freedom allows the players to enjoy it. Another essential characteristic is mystery that consecrates the playing area. The peaceful coexistence of the real world with an illusory one is only possible in culture, art, sports, etc.
Notwithstanding its absurdity, the game is capable of creating enticing playing forms in everyday life, fraught with the danger of disillusionment after shifting from game to reality. The characters’ motifs often seem illogical from a mundane perspective. The game is anything but real life, so a make-believe world collides with reality and brings about negative consequences.
Through the example of several modern Iranian films, the article examines the conflicts arising from the collision of game playing with dismal reality. Rich in symbols, metaphors, mythological and artistic images, ancient Persian culture holds great potential in representing game forms in the movies, providing an indepth analysis of human existence.