In many ways Mr.Dariush Mehrjui can be called one of the most mature directors of Iranian cinema.The maturity element in his films comes from his profound knowledge of philosophy.It is his familiarity with philosophical themes which enabled him to gain international recognition much ahead of other Iranian directors of international repute namely Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf.One of his earlier films Gaav (The Cow) was voted one of the best Iranian films.In later years,it was dethroned to make room for Hamoun in 1990. It was also crowned the best Iranian film of all times.Hamoun is a challenging portrayal of difficult lives led by an Iranian intellectual couple who is unable to live in harmony.The film starts with some brilliantly shot dream like sequences which are repeated at regular intervals.What happens when a dream is over and one is forced to live a difficult life ? It is the answer to this question which awaits patient viewers in Hamoun which boasts of a meaningful, well nuanced acting performance by late Iranian actor Khosro Shakibai (1944-2008)
4 Reviews
A great way to re-visit Iran
sandhillwi21 October 2006
HAMOUN is a wonderful visual and sound voyage to Tehrani streets and neighborhoods, the Alborz Mountains and the Caspian seashore. To one having left Iran in 1980, the film's places, people and language were wonderfully familiar and increased my desire to return.
The manner in which people's lives have been changed since the revolution appears to be somewhat minimal. The scene in which the tea man immediately brought the glass of tea and sugar to Hamid with polite utterances to no acknowledged response shows little change from the "old days." The chador worn by Hamid's wife could be new, or not; the fact she drove alone is unchanged.
I didn't get the story, but everything else made it very worthwhile.
HAMOUN made a former rather long time US expatriate in Iran very homesick.
The manner in which people's lives have been changed since the revolution appears to be somewhat minimal. The scene in which the tea man immediately brought the glass of tea and sugar to Hamid with polite utterances to no acknowledged response shows little change from the "old days." The chador worn by Hamid's wife could be new, or not; the fact she drove alone is unchanged.
I didn't get the story, but everything else made it very worthwhile.
HAMOUN made a former rather long time US expatriate in Iran very homesick.
sacrificing daddy
rezakazemi231 October 2006
I'm an Iranian MD. I saw this movie when I was teenager. It was the first and the last time I went to cinema with my father. My father hate cinema and any cultural act but ever now I couldn't understand why he took me and my little brother to this movie when we were too young and knew nothing about cinema. Now I adore my daddy for this sacrifice. This movie changed my life and addicted me to cinema. Hamoun is a story about lost love and disordered intellectuality leading mind deconstruction and disorientation in life way; A criticism about challenge between eastern belief and western objectivity.An internal battle that destroys traditional minds but with their possessor too. Hamoun refers to a religious story about Abraham & sacrificing his son Ismael(Samuel). My special thanks to my father who did sacrificed himself not his son(me).
A Hamlet-like Tale
astutato10 March 2003
Hamoun, a.k.a. "The Desert," is a superior film that depicts the life of Hamid Hamoun - an educated, middle class man whose wife wishes to divorce him. The movie delves deep into this character's mind with constant dream sequences in which Hamid's contemplations flash before his eyes. Ultimately, this is an excellent psychological and emotional tale of one man's struggle against an onslaught of treachery and deceit.
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