Subject: Pari
From: Malcolm Lawrence (Malcolm@wolfenet.com)
Date: Sun Mar 09 1997 - 19:15:18 GMT
Has anyone seen this Iranian filmed version of Franny & Zooey yet?
http://www.eye.net/Arts/Movies/Onscreen/1996/os0201g.htm
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eye WEEKLY February 1 1996
Toronto's arts newspaper .....free every Thursday
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ONSCREEN ONSCREEN
review
PARI
eeee
Starring Niki Karimi and Khosro Shakibai.
Screenplay by Dariush Mahrjui based on
J.D. Salinger's novel Franny And Zooey.
Directed by Dariush Mahrjui. Arabic with Subtitles.
(STC) Feb. 2, 9 p.m.; Feb. 4, 7 p.m.; Feb. 6, 9 p.m.
(Part of the Second Iranian Film Festival, Feb. 2-7.)
Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. 532-6677.
by
CAROLYN BENNETT
A chance to see a festival of Iranian films doesn't come around every day. In fact, the last one was
six long years ago. If Pari, an intellectually ambitious work about a young woman's quest for life's
meaning -- based on J.D. Salinger's novel Franny And Zooey -- is an indication, the festival is well
worth your while.
Pari is a young Iranian woman who has given up a fledgling acting career in search of The Big
Answer. Through her studies she stumbles upon "The Green Book," a sort of how-to spiritual guide
written by a fifth-century Jojira mystic. She becomes obsessed by the book, experiencing fantastic
visions and religious ecstasy. The book was a gift from a beloved older brother who committed
suicide in a fire and Pari seems set on following his fate. The bulk of the story lies with Pari's
surviving brother, Dadashi, who takes it upon himself to bring Pari back to reality.
Beautifully photographed and slickly directed (the film won veteran writer/director Dariush Mahrjui,
a UCLA philosophy grad, the Best Director award at the 1995 Fajr Film Festival and Alireza
Zarrindast the award for Best Cinematography), Pari is a stunning visual journey as well as a
refreshingly intelligent story. Characters debate religion and philosophy. They get bent out of shape
over bad art. They recognize and care about the state of thought in society.
What is doubly compelling is that this philosophical and religious struggle comes from an Islamic
perspective and not the Christian view, as in Franny And Zooey. The family dynamic, although a bit
confusing at times, slowly reveals its significance by the end of the film, as a small revelation brings
the mystical and temporal together.
You may lose track of time watching Pari. There are no Hollywood plot points every 20 minutes,
no twists that spin the action around. What you will do is revel in the beauty of the land and
appreciate another culture's religious and intellectual tradition -- even if you don't completely
understand it.
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