The Secrets of the Jinn Valley Treasure (Gholestan, 1974): Barbican Cinema, 8.30pm
The final cinematic work of director Ebrahim Golestan, this political satire places the ills of a society under a comic magnifying glass. A Monty Python–esque allegory about the corrosive impact of oil exports on Iranian life, following a villager who discovers a hidden fortune, becomes rich overnight, and swiftly transforms into a tyrant. The film’s troubled history began even before its release. Golestan felt compelled to conceal the story during production, aware of how his intentions may be skewed. When it finally reached cinemas, the film was banned after 2 weeks. The questions remained – were they misinterpretations, or simply interpretations? Featuring several major stars of the era, including comedian Parviz Sayyad and Mary Apick. Golestan re-edited the film but the director’s version was never publicly screened… until now. This screening marks the world premiere of the brand-new restoration of the film’s director’s cut.
Chicago Reader review:
Having moved to London in 1967, the distinguished Iranian writer,
translator, producer, and director Ebrahim Golestan returned to his
homeland to make this unpleasant allegorical comedy (1972), his second
and final feature to date. A bitter satire about the shah’s corrupt
regime, it centers on a poor peasant who plunges into a hidden cave,
discovers a cache of valuable antiques, and becomes a grotesque nouveau
riche tyrant. Golestan tackled a related theme in his exquisite 1965
short The Iranian Crown Jewels (see listing for “Documentaries by
Ebrahim Golestan”), which was commissioned and then banned by the
shah’s cultural ministry, but that film attacked the very elitism that
subsumes this one.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
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