{"id":10233,"date":"2019-10-21T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T06:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/?p=10233"},"modified":"2021-01-21T19:28:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T15:58:22","slug":"trace-of-blood-a-film-about-mek-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/posts\/10233","title":{"rendered":"Trace of Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Film About MEK History<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Filmmaker emerges to bring dramas from Iran political history to life<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born during the war, which had lasted for so long that I thought that it would be forever and would never end. When I heard people talking about the frontline I imagined it was a geographical location like a sea or a forest near the borderlines of each country where the war took place. We were in our childhood, experiencing a certain way of life. We chanted slogans in the schools and talked about certain issues and heard about subjects from the media that deeply influenced our hearts and minds. Today, the experiences of those years caused me to be interested in returning to those years with new feelings and perceptions, which come from awareness, and I want to recollect the memories of those years again.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian made the remarks during the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran in February after the premiere of his latest political thriller, \u201cTrace of Blood\u201d, which is currently on screen at Iranian theaters.<\/p>\n

Perhaps nobody imagined that a filmmaker of political thrillers was being born in the new wave of Iranian cinema in 2016 when Mahdavian made his debut feature \u201cStanding in the Dust\u201d at 34.<\/p>\n

The film recounted the life story of Ahmad Motevasselian, an IRGC commander who was kidnapped by the Zionist regime in 1982 in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The choice of subject matter was viewed by critics as an easy and clever way for the newcomer to obtain approval for the film from Iranian cultural officials.<\/p>\n

At the time, the film was produced at the Owj Arts and Media Organization, a Tehran-based institution that produces revolutionary works in art and cinema. Nowadays, the projects that the organization supports no longer face burdensome bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the state.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Standing in the Dust\u2019 was the most customized movie I have ever made, and was my most popular film and also received critics acclaim,\u201d Mahdavian told the Persian daily Sharq after the premiere of \u201cTrace of Blood\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Lottery\u2019 was my most independently produced film, but it failed to satisfy the critics,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A year later, Mahdavian\u2019s second movie, \u201cThe Midday Event\u201d on the terrorist activities of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) in Iran in the 1980s, demonstrated his passion for factual political stories taken from modern Iranian history.<\/p>\n

In this film, the new government, after toppling the Shah in 1979, assembles a security group to fight against MKO\u2019s terrorist attacks in 1982.<\/p>\n

His third film, \u201cLottery\u201d about trafficking Iranian women to the United Arab Emirates was viewed as regressive by critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the courage to make a film and accept the negative reviews. But what urges me to continue on this path is the people for whom I make the films,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrace of Blood\u201d, also known as \u201cBlood Trap\u201d, is a sequel to \u201cThe Midday Event\u201d. In this film, Iranian security forces come together in 1988 to trace the MKO\u2019s undercover agents, which had penetrated the security forces in 1982. They also want to foil Operation Eternal Light, which the MKO carried out against Iran with the full support of the Iraqi dictator, Saddam.<\/p>\n

The stories of \u201cThe Midday Event\u201d and \u201cTrace of Blood\u201d were set in the 1980s when Mahdavian and Ebrahim Amini, with whom he co-wrote the screenplays for the films, were only children.<\/p>\n

However, in an interview with Mahdavian, veteran critic Hushang Golmakani, who works for the Persian monthly Film, called the details of the sets and dialogues of \u201cTrace of Blood\u201d perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe film has the potential to be biased, but it has maintained its balance. The film has very good dialogues and perfect ending,\u201d Golmakani noted.<\/p>\n

It appears that a perfect filmmaker who is genuinely skilled in transforming real political narratives into films has emerged. However, he wants to try his hand at other genres.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no time to lose; life is too short and I haven\u2019t made a lot of films. Certainly, I will try other genres\u2014I don\u2019t know when\u2014but I want to try something different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I find a different story appropriate enough to be turned into a film, of course I will make it. Once, I even wanted to make a film for children, because whenever we intend to take our children to the cinema, we can\u2019t find films entertaining enough for children,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The social theme of the story in \u201cLottery\u201d from his short but brilliant career reflected a shift. Centering on topics such as sex trafficking rings in Iran is a bit much for this cinema. His camera should be focused on major stories such as the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, which has been distorted by numerous biased movies from Iranian and foreign filmmakers, including Ben Affleck\u2019s 2012 movie \u201cArgo\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mahdavian seems to go his own way in filmmaking. He is clever enough to avoid joining specific currents, which tend to categorize everything by the rules of politics. His avoidance of these trends should help prevent him from being tagged as a governmental filmmaker.
\nBy Seyyed Mostafa Mousavi Sabet<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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