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Reviews
Breathful (2007)
all women cast and a sure to be another cult-classic
i saw the premiere of Breathful in Berlin. the crowd did not respond to the film, and the press was less enthusiastic, but as all other films from Shokof, i longed for originality and spectacular concept and cinema language with his signature before the film started. Breathful was wrongly shown at a wrong time (in my opinion) and certainly to a wrong crowd. this film has its ups and downs but only if one views it through the eyes of people watching standard films from the world industry. one should know that Shokof has never made a film for the industry and or by the industry, and is probably why he enjoys a following for being who he is and having made films his way over and over again. there is again nothing usual in this hilarious Gangster_Comedy with an all women cast. Two girls who are best of friends try to get rich in a swift drug sales action. Berta (played by Taies Farzan), and Fuss(Narges Rashidi)make a most joyous and unbelievable team in leading this comedy with extraordinary fresh elements and twists. Berta is the frustrated furious strong minded Latino type as Fuss is just there to make life easier for both of them. she is supposed to be the cooler of the two. However, and on the contrary Fuss only makes things complicated and constantly gets on Berta,s nerves throughout the story most comically. One begins to love their relationship even though they never connect as two good friends. there is something about these two that makes you want them to succeed, and love to watch them as they are obviously gorgeous women on screen(in my opinion they connect as a rarity women couples on the screen). Despite all their efforts,they can not sell the drugs which they took on a credit from Sigi (the Boss). They ask Sigi to take the drug back and forget the whole bargain. Sigi gives them 3 days time and this starts a ride of a life time in trouble for both girls. they go from stealing cars to robbing stores, and through many clients unsuccessfully to sell the drugs all throughout the film. their situation gets more complicated as Fuss dates Naomi who is Sigi,s daughter, and more so when they try to become artists (that whole art issue is out of this world). The movie has rare elements and characters have funniest names in cinema history ever; Vasline Basmati, Benny Hur, Buddy Rich,and Fuss doing best to match the meaning of her name for being a trouble all the time. Berta speaks with an unclear accent between Latino and Iranian(Taies Farzan is an Iranian German), and is a force all by herself whenever she shows up. the actings are never to be taken more than what they are as the film again breaks many rules in the books as do most films by Shokof. It is again a Shokof film that stands atall and not necessarily because every element in the film is perfect. it is on the contrary so loose,free, and daring, that it feels perfect. mastery of the film is that the Directing is incredible, and some amazing moments make this one stick as good as it can. i would love to see the sequel anytime, and with much the same cast soon. a 10 for all the great ideas, and for dedicating the film to freedom of women everywhere, and a salute to Shokof for keeping it original. the music is again a charm.
Kiss, Long and Close (2003)
longest kiss dedicated to freedom for women
this 8 minutes the longest kiss in cinema (Shokof said he wanted to actually make it an 80 Minutes kiss but the actors lips would,nt hold up to the promise)was dedicated to freedom for Iranian Women as a couple kiss on the streets for 8 minutes. it is brilliantly shot starting with an investigating eye (in a wide shot )from behind a window(the LONG shot) for around 2 minutes . one sees the commotion and the traffic around the couple on the side walk as some moslem women pass by under veil and look at the couple kissing. Then, there comes the cut to get closest to the couple as the kiss continues most erotically, passionately and tightly(CLOSE)for another 6 minutes. towards the end of the kiss we hear the curses of the Moslem fanatics against the longest innocent kiss on the screen.brave, brilliant and again as fresh as all Shokof,s works. both the film and the kiss get another 10 from me.
Smoqing (2007)
brilliant wrap up on smoking
I saw this film at New York short film festival. the film uses amazing camera work by Shokof,s favorite Camera man Zandi (Shokof made that remark at a screening of Asudem).Zandi mentioned at that press conference that he prays the lord being alive after every film he makes with Shokof for all the real life-threatening actions he goes through to actually shooting the action scenes. One can feel all that action in Smoqing as well.this film is full of speed, extraordinary editing and great perspectives and again the use of that famous Shokof,s ONE light system (I saw the same Cinematography in Asudem from Shokof) which he hands the movie light into the hands of the actress Melinda Cohen throughout the film and the results are simply brilliant. the film is about a young girl Melinda Cohen who is just now decided to quit smoking, and goes through the most horrific experiment of her life for doing so.
the story is again a most original concept which ends with hallucinative sounds towards the end of the film with a mind blowing final shot that might just help many smokers to think twice smoking the next cigarette ever again. I am a smoker and would not give up smoking not even to get close to this favorite Artist of mine, but have to admit , it was difficult to look at myself in the mirror in the toilet when i lit a smoke after the film was over. Great Directing from a Cult favorite Director of mine deserving another 10. the sound and music is mesmerizing alongside the great sound effects (done by Tom Dokoupil). it seems that Shokof and co. could deliver a punch every time they hit the screen with a new work. really astonishing fresh short film.
Tenussian Vacuvasco (2000)
9 apartments,9different lives,and 90 minutes of fun
Tenussian Vacuvasco starts being Original with the tile, and usual of all Shokof films for its amazing concepts, situations, and Irony. The stories of 9 different lives of different people are intertwined and masterfully followed, through most deliberately amazing scene structures from each and every film Genre. in an apartment we see a Boxing match on the third floor, and next to it a couple playfully do some of the weirdest activities seen in any movie experience. next to the couple, an opera singer sings constantly with a most beautiful voice through an open window, and another guy is busy dealing Cocaine, as some thieves enter his apartment through the open window of his place while he is shortly away, and.......you can just imagine how the chaos completes itself as many of stories in each apartment starts getting mixed up with another apartment,s life-style,and through this whole confusion a regular every day life of all citizens on Earth is explored. The lonely girl in the middle floor, acts brilliantly (wonderfully and theatrically by Taies Farzan)is the center of attraction as she is bored and gets into all sorts of troubles with the girl next door as she steals her boyfriend. the whole film is as strange as my complicated writing about the film, but I had to write it the way it affected me.Tenussian Vacuvasco is extraordinary as a piece of art cinema, and simultaneously simple enough to be enjoyed by anyone(even children were laughing hard at the screening). this This Director is on my list of 10 best ever, and his films get the 10 from me for the same reasons(Originality, amazing stories, perspectives, Visuals) which make his works always out of this world. a 10 for the courage alone.
Sie wird ... (2004)
a woman decides to get rid of the man we never see
another brilliant film from master of Irony and Originality. the woman (acted brilliantly by Jaleh Arikan) is separating from her boyfriend (whom we never see). everyone around her has a story to tell her why she should certainly break up with the guy (who has apparently cheated on her). the sister, Mother (again we never see and only hear on the phone), the boyfriend,s best friend who now wants to have an affair with her just cause the boyfriend is now gone ( the role is wonderfully executed by Shokof himself), and finally she and , only ,she will decide in all her loneliness to do what she needs to do. there are moments in this hilarious short film that one would wish it would be a long film,but again, Shokof tries to escape the rules of telling it as has been for years and makes this short film turn into a GEM. the film is most poetic and always beautifully photographed, with interesting ,and effective camera perspectives to help construction of the dizziness legitimate in telling such a story. Shokof is a master Cinematographer as we can see it over and over again how he transfers his Artistic dimensions and ideas enriching all his movies visuals. the film is shot with a simple home-camera,but so masterfully framed and again acted by Jaleh Arikan that on times you do feel you are watching an Oscar worthy performance, in an Oscar ripe short film. i loved this short film and give it again a 10 for being a true Shokof film at its best.
Magass (1997)
one man 4 women and a fly as the house pet.. what a delight
Magass is a hilarious surreal comedy with great turns and twists throughout the film. a man is blacklisted as a writer-Director and tries his best to get a project going regardless of all the facts around his situation as a Blacklist artist. the story uses incredible use of metaphor engaging issues of races(all his women are from different races and as he puts it they should also resemble the four seasons of the year).regardless of seasons and or partner,s changes the horror of Racism remains present until a pet (Magass, the FLY) enters their life cycle as an angel of savior! the allegory of a Fly to be an angel is again all by itself another brilliant original concept usual from Shokof works, and worth watching a most unique film experience. Magass, becomes a lead cast and has finally an everlasting effect on the life and faith of the artist. the film lacks great actors but shokof himself carries the whole film astonishingly well and all on his shoulder alone. he is really a great actor (classic looks of Yul Brynner+ touches of Bruce Willis and the nose from Telly Savalas all in one body is Shokof ). it is a pity one does not see much of him as an actor.He repeatedly has mentioned that he hates acting and finds himself to be a terrible actor, but with his face he can not do wrong. he is really a delight on the screen to watch and both erotically and romantically a most peculiar face.the film gets a 10 from me and again for all its genius originality. it gets a 10 again for choosing a Fly as an angel with a whole pile of S.... as his ideal image of a Heaven! Just incredible.
Venussian Tabutasco (2004)
Keaton,Tati, Hitchcock, and Shokof in one elevator
this film takes place thoroughly in an elevator as it goes up and down 5 floors of one building. each floor has residents and represents certain layer of our civilization. it is magnifying in all and each and every form from storytelling to characterization of people in the film. Shokof,s originality of concept, Directing and comic skills can blow your mind away.the film is so engaging that after the screening every viewer had a wish list of scenes wanting to be added to the film, and oddly enough all those wishes could be applied to a remake of this genius concept. everything is possible in making a remake, and i do wish to see a serious effort to make a giant film as a remake of this movie gem. just as strange as the titles of Shokof films always have been(which really perhaps has influenced a whole generation of film titles)Venussian Tabutasco should actually also have a hidden meaning that would be out of the patience of this article if i had to write what he said in the press interview after the screening at the BAPFF film festival in Berlin. this outstanding experimental attempt gets a 10 for just existing+ one of the finest use of sound and music ever by Tom Dokoupil again. the sound effects are a whole film by itself
Angels Are Wired (1990)
two film frames collide to make a most original film experience
two frames hang from a balance in which each one has a story to tell in abstract forms, and or language. the film is actually a video installation, and has been screened in many prestigious museums as a conceptual art work. Shokof,s apparently first experiment with film material is a delightful ,funny, most original, and complicated work. images fill the screens independently of each other but then after a while and gradually they begin to relate to each other in two separated frames and finally the frames start colliding with each other and create many new meaningful new stories that opens a whole new story-line most joyous to watch. Shokof,s usage of meaningful odd titles begin with this film as he calls it Angels are wired, and so one should be careful not to tell the whole truth not even to the angels as they would further tell it all to the almighty up there. i saw this film in a retrospective of Shokof films in Los Angeles and can strongly recommend it to all viewers who would want to begin studying the world of this most original minds of our time. a 10 for originality and concept for this short film jewel.
A2Z (2007)
daring as ever with great Jack Taylor at his best
A2Z introduces Narges Rashidi next to the Legendary Jack Taylor doing another trash film with thought provoking plot, and Directed most masterly by Shokof at his funniest, worst, best, and after all again Shokof. Jacussi, and his much younger girlfriend (the love of his life) try to get it all over this day.They decide to do all they want before the final hour comes. they kill Nazis, rob a bank, do some weird drugs, and buy weapons from a dude who only sells guns to terrorists. Narges Rashidi is a delight to watch. She is a most talented beautiful young actress who keeps up with Jack Taylor throughout the film masterfully,and most convincing. the love couple are supposed to shoot each other to death by the end of the day, and after they have tried everything they always wanted to do.The mean detective boss played by Shokof himself(really a good actor, with great features.if he would only act more in films)has ordered the cops to shoot them down with exactly 2218 bullets.The detectives chase the couple down to finally deliver the order until the big boss appears himself to check things out personally. A great 10 again for all the courage and originality.
Asudem (2007)
another cult masterpiece from a cult hero out of this world
Asudem is most desirably weird. it is not scary but it keeps you on the edge of your seat for 90 minutes. the story is again absolutely original. you are watching a woman in the woods, during a war we would never see. she and her dog live in solitude, are scared, and confused and dazed from the start of the story. we hear the horrific sounds of war almost throughout the picture.the sound is done greatly by Tom Dokoupil. this surreal and haunting film has been shot as if somewhere on Earth and again like all films by Shokof where one would never know where we are. Everything is extraordinary and yet simply possible . the lighting system in the film is almost a revolution all by itself. one source of a light has been used throughout the film(as he said in the press conference after the film,s screening in Babylon Cinema in Berlin). this only light source throughout the film has been given into the hands of the great actress Yangzom Brauen who masterfully follows incredible guidance of this master Director to light the scenes resembling paintings of Rembrandt on many ocassions. The scenes are magnificent in black and white and using shadows add another great concept to this fantastic picture which reminds one of great old classic masterpieces with the difference that modernity of the concept is stunning in addition to what we have always seen many years ago. the woman,s situation becomes more and more terrible as the level of the evils appearing to haunt her life grow gradually. another most interesting element of all Shokof films are his sense of unique humor that i have never seen anywhere else.we get to even see the vampire showing up in a most unexpected scene, as the vampire oddly pumps life into her almost lifeless body after she has just attempted suicide. weird, poetic, and really ahead of the standards of the Industry and or even Independent films today. the miserable appearances continue until the Satan himself finally shows up . she is creative again to feed Satan hallucinating mushrooms in the hope that Satan would have heavenly dreams and die in fear of the heavens. one should have imaginations of fierce dimensions to start making such movies. Asudem has again my 10 for i can not compare Shokof,s films to anyone and or any other movies to give his films a 0 and or a 100? i only know he makes films uniquely Shokofian style.He has obviously influenced many Directors the world around with these amazing thoughtful unique, and most original pictures.
Seven Servants (1996)
perhaps the most important movie ever made
Daryush Shokof said in an interview after screening the film that Marlon Brando was up for the role of Archie (Anthony Quinn took the part)and Norman Mailer was supposed to play the friend (played brilliantly by David Warner). He said all his childhood dreams came through when these names were ready to commit themselves to this amazing story. Seven Servants is in every perspective a rarest film of all cinema history. an old man wants to get it all over with and hires 7 servants to plug up his body openings and stay connected for the next 10 days? Thus a most unique, original piece of literature , visuals, and concept takes form on the screen never seen by anyone, and or anywhere in arts and or literature until this great piece of film making came about.
Shokof,s Cult masterpiece gets a 10 from me alone for the concept, and then again for the courage, and then again, for Quinn,s extraordinary and shocking performance and then again for out of this world details,Pure Directing such a most complicated movie with an ease, and simplicity, and for all the amazing lines throughout the movie, and also for the most intriguing set design ever. the film is obviously against racism, and for unity of men on Earth. Shokof mentioned in his interviews that he had a dream the night after a terrible fire burnt a family of Turks in a house in Germany . The servants are of different races, and the there are jaw-dropping moments where all these connected people act as one creature doing routine activities of the day from painting, to dancing, eating and or even going to the rest room together. the film is truly a masterpiece of ideas, and an art form that does connect to audiences of all ages regardless of them understanding all the most thoughtful elements hidden under each line in the film. there were Children connecting to one another after the screening and this in itself was the shock of my life. perhaps this is also one of the reasons this movie never got released.Seven Servants might just be too unreachable of an effort for the world in reaching peace in our times and days. perhaps the film would be ripe for screenings world-wide in 3000 years, but whats immensely notable is that the film is done, and it has been viewed , and no one can wipe these amazing visuals off my mind ever. for whatever the reason ,it is a shame for world culture and arts and humanity that Seven Servants is still nowhere to be seen. a 10 forever.