Educational Media Reviews Online

In these two short films filmmaker Reza Haeri explores the intersections of fashion, history, politics, and historical memory in Iran. The style of these two films could not be farther apart. All Restrictions End is a generally maddening post-mod free-for-all. Haeri has constructed a montage of moving and still images that seem to be saying...well, something or other about changing clothing fashions as a metaphor for and reflection of Iran's turbulent modern history and relations with the West. In between these lines of inquiry, there are also references to photography, cinema, The Gaze, gender politics, and good old Walter Benjamin. Unfortunately, much of the voice-over narrative that attempts to hold this fractured show together is a wandering, poetic rumination that is often completely opaque: "Artists look. Tyrants never look. Tyrants stand and look. The first glance is a coincidence, pure luck. Forget it. Khosrow, Shah of Iran, sees Shirin by chance, naked in the water. Revolution of the gaze, liberation of the eye. Everything begins with one glance. The second look is a sign, a sin." This kind of stuff for 33 minutes. And why, exactly, are clips from Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" and Duke Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" used as background music (albeit briefly)? And what's the deal with the use of clips from Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera, and stills from Buñuel's Chien Andalou? If there are historical or artistic connections here, they were completely lost on me. It's a shame that Haeri chose to wander down this thorny "experimental" path. Told in a more straightforward expository style, this could have been a very interesting and unique topic for documentary exploration, rather than the unfortunate muddle it is. The second film, Final Fitting, is an interesting, if somewhat bland, verité-ish visit to the shop of Mr. Arabpour, a devout and well-respected octogenarian master tailor who caters to the sartorial whims and needs of clerics and high governmental authorities in the city of Oom. Arabpour discusses the stylistic, historic, and cultural differences in the robes and turbans he creates. (I sort of love the fact that his new robes include pockets for cell phones). We watch his often humorous interactions with a number of well-placed clerical customers. We're shown him cutting cloth and assembling the clothing. And that's about it. It's interesting, but not particularly revelatory or insightful stuff. Except for the largest collections, or collections specializing in Middle East culture and politics, this is an acquisition that can probably be forgone.