WHITE MEADOWS

Ma's View:

We saw this beautiful Iranian movie last year and it still lingers in the psyche, not just for the magnificent, haunting scenery, but more so for the sheer power of this allegorical tale.  The story is a fable which reflects the oppressive nature of the current regime in Iran and writer/director, Mohammad Rasoulet and his collaborator Jafar Panahi were jailed by the Iranian government as a result.

The film follows the journeys of a boatman who travels across a vast salt lake, visiting various isolated islands and ritualistically collecting the tears of the grieving in his glass vial.  Each village reflects a different aspect of a society trapped in a net of prejudice, ignorance, superstition and persecution :- a woman's death is rationalised as acceptable since "the way she moved under her cloak" gave men impure ideas; a virgin is sacrificed to bring rain; a dwarf is entombed to absolve the sins of the villagers; an artist is blinded for painting the sea red.

You will be wondering about the plot line with such a string of tragic events.....well, once the tears have been laboriously collected from the sorrowful, they are brought to an old, old man whose feet they are used to wash.  I'm guessing he represents the old regime and the vast lifeless salt lake is the country sucked of its vitality, its people clinging to life, mindlessly following tradition because they know no better.  The stark images of the white/grey lake and the salt islands with their black-clothed inhabitants are what stick in the mind.

This was a rivetting film requiring effort to appreciate.

My score:  8.5/10

Pepe's View:

My first impression when watching this film was "What the??"  It is a very confusing film that definitely requires concentration and a willingness to suspend disbelief in order to allow the splendid imagery and allegory to reveal all or most of what the film has to offer.

We begin the film on a boat slowly paddling across an immense calm sea until eventually landing on a white desolate (salt) island with seemingly no life.  As the boatman reaches the island however, he is met by people who are expecting him and who escort him to the village.  This scenario is repeated three or four times and as Ma has said, on each island the boatman collects the tears of the citizens.
These tears are then taken to wash the feet of the "ruler" of the land who lives in opulence and luxury in stark contrast to the barrenness of the islands.
The film is beautifully shot and directed as the tragedy of each village is revealed and the tears collected.
The Iranian director was imprisoned due to the subversive theme of the film and although I could see glimmers of the meaning behind the allegory, I wished I was more informed regarding the Iranian regime and the history of the country which would I am sure have made the film even more meaningful.
A great film which is worth seeing if only for the cinematography.

My Score:  8/10