Last night marked my very first film festival. On Saturday the 10th of August, 2013, I drove in to the city with Mum and made it to the 6.30pm screening of Mohammad Rasoulof’s ‘Manuscripts Don’t Burn’.
Before the film, we got some chow at a nice little Japanese place on Flinders Lane, where I unfortunately ended up wearing a cup full of my ginger-miso soup due to my clumsiness. Regardless, we enjoyed dinner and made our way down towards The Forum theatre, where I had previously witnessed Tame Impala in all their psychedelic greatness.
The queue to get into the cinema ran along the Forum’s length on Flinders, around the corner and halfway up the intersecting street – a good sign for a film’s hype, I’m guessing. Despite the length of this line, it moved very quickly and Mum and I found our way into some seats within about 10 minutes.
The cinema was absolutely packed to the brim and some late-arriving groups we’re even having to sit apart – the disadvantage of being ‘fashionably late’. After a few short commercials for local bars/Maltesers/Foxtel and Maltesers, the film begun and the audience grew silent.
The film (fully spoken in Farsi with English subtitles) struck me as very well written, directed and shot. I was quite literally blown away by the cinematography – the scenery was spectacular. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in the Iranian censorship situation, or anyone who loves a good ‘fighting for freedom’ film.
3.5/5 Stars
Below is the synopsis from the MIFF website:
“Kasra is an Iranian author who manages to secretly write down his memoirs, although being under strict monitoring by the security service. His stories are related to his time in jail as a political prisoner, as well as different events connected to his life as an intellectual in Iran. He has prepared everything in order to publish these writings and is getting ready to leave the country. Several people in the security service apparatus manage to uncover Kasra’s plans. They will do anything to destroy his manuscripts.”
I’m now looking very much forward to going to see ‘The East’ tonight at the Greater Union Cinema – review to follow.