Well, Iranian animation industry have a long way to go. But I believe that's a good start.
28 Reviews
A GOOD BEGINNING.
sadras-982112 November 2020
A Persian Lord of the Rings
corrosion-24 April 2019
Though Iranian cinema is one of the well-known and respected members of the global world of cinema, thanks to filmmakers such as Kiarostami, Farhadi, Panahi, etc.; none of the Iranian films that have made a mark on the world stage have been animations. A few amateurish Iranian animations, targeted strictly at kids, have had some local box office success but they've not been of a standard which could be exhibited in foreign markets.
However, with The Last Fiction, this pattern is set to change. The Last Fiction is an animation film based on the stories of The Shahnameh, a massive 11th-century work by Persian poet Ferdowsi, arguably the greatest book in the Persian language. A sort of Persian Lord of the Rings, written all in verse, it tells the stories of legends, heroes and villains, monsters and myths. In the opening credit sequence of the Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani's recent remake of Fahrenheit 451, The Shahnameh is one of the great works of world literature which is shown burning.
A young Iranian animation director, Ashkan Rahgozar, for his feature film debut, has somehow not only found financial backers for this ambitious project but has also amassed a galaxy of Iranian film stars to voice the characters. Rahgozar wisely uses only a miniscule part of the Shahnameh and focuses on the stories of the evil ruler Zahak, his young nemesis Afaridoun and, what must be one of the earliest working-class heroes in literature, Kaveh, the Blacksmith. All the traditional elements of such stories are there: sword and sorcery, monsters, a love story, setbacks and triumphs.
The animation techniques used in The Last Fiction are head and shoulders above all the other Iranian animated films and compare favourably with great works of world animation. Using beautifully drawn animations, supplemented by powerful music and backed by a strong narrative, The Last Fiction is a highly impressive debut and a landmark in the history of Iranian cinema. Though familiarity with stories and legends of The Shahnameh helps, even those unfamiliar with this book, should be able to follow the narrative without any difficulty and take pleasure in its audio-visual delights.
Great Music & some problems
Mananoke7 August 2019
I went to watch this movie with really high hopes & well it was mediocre.
It SURELY does have the worth to be watched once or twice maybe; but the movie has some disappointing features; for example :
The music by Christophe Rezaei is SPECTACULAR but sometimes the sound of music was so high that we barely could hear the characters. I really hope this wouldn't be a problem in DVD or Blu-ray version.
The language was a mixture between old and modern Persian which doesn't lead to integration! Again I do hope the English version doesn't have this problem.
Finally the plot... Well as a person who grew up with "Shahnameh" stories & also stories like J.R.R Tolkien's, I really did feel that the plot was an ambiguous mixture between The Lord of the Rings ,The Tale of Kave (from Shahnameh) & even a glimpse of Hayao Miyazaki's works. Sometimes we would feel a plot hole & well I know Hoorakhsh Studio has a series of comic books (The tale of Jamshid) that will eventually lead to this animation BUT they should consider that someone with no background of Iran's literature and their comics will also watch this. It would've been great if the plot was more comprehensive.
After all I did appreciate the graphics; though it isn't perfect compared to great 2D animations like Ghibli's works and you can notice some minor mistakes sometimes during the movie BUT it's a huge leap for Iran's 2D (with a sprinkle of 3D) animation. Good job to Hoorakhsh Studio & I look forward to watch better works from them in future!
The music by Christophe Rezaei is SPECTACULAR but sometimes the sound of music was so high that we barely could hear the characters. I really hope this wouldn't be a problem in DVD or Blu-ray version.
The language was a mixture between old and modern Persian which doesn't lead to integration! Again I do hope the English version doesn't have this problem.
Finally the plot... Well as a person who grew up with "Shahnameh" stories & also stories like J.R.R Tolkien's, I really did feel that the plot was an ambiguous mixture between The Lord of the Rings ,The Tale of Kave (from Shahnameh) & even a glimpse of Hayao Miyazaki's works. Sometimes we would feel a plot hole & well I know Hoorakhsh Studio has a series of comic books (The tale of Jamshid) that will eventually lead to this animation BUT they should consider that someone with no background of Iran's literature and their comics will also watch this. It would've been great if the plot was more comprehensive.
After all I did appreciate the graphics; though it isn't perfect compared to great 2D animations like Ghibli's works and you can notice some minor mistakes sometimes during the movie BUT it's a huge leap for Iran's 2D (with a sprinkle of 3D) animation. Good job to Hoorakhsh Studio & I look forward to watch better works from them in future!
Iranian mythology on big screen
gheitasy-samin29 April 2019
Watching the Last Fiction was an overwhelming experience. Seeing Iranian mythological characters getting some well-deserved screen time, beyond their literary and often formal context, which for some of us is not so easy to grasp, was exhilarating. The Persian Book of Kings' stories have been woven in Iranian culture, but rarely the tales and the remarkable characters of this book have been portrayed in a cinematic feature, for everyone, regardless of their literary knowledge or interest. This lighthearted adaptation of one of the most adored Persian myths, was quite captivating and left many to want to see more.
Pure Persian, One of the Greatest Fiction of Shahname
hadiikarimii8 November 2020
One of the true icon of the shahname is Kave, whom is popular for his actions against the injustice and cruelty. An ego that is brought the proud to the persian people. The movie is amazing and well-created and I believe it is a must-watch movie. You would not believe it until you'll watch it. The sounds, music and soundtracks are traditional persian well-known music. It could be ever better but I think they did an amazing job. We need more of these stories.
till the end, I didn't find out that what's Moghak?!
Ehsan_Alikhani27 June 2023
There is no doubt that this animation is for adults and is not suitable for children and teenagers, either in terms of its darkness or in terms of its hard and weird literature.
I think everything about it is at the medium level; drawings, frame rate, characters are not well processed , dubbing, etc.
I think that the only strong part about this animation is music which is perfect.
I watched this animation twice because it was interesting to me, but I have to say that I was interested in Shahnameh since I was a child and one of my hobbies was reading the book of Shahnameh stories, and this animation had nothing to say compared to those books.
Maybe it would be better if the years spent making this animation were spent on publishing some illustrated or comic books of the Shahnameh.
I think everything about it is at the medium level; drawings, frame rate, characters are not well processed , dubbing, etc.
I think that the only strong part about this animation is music which is perfect.
I watched this animation twice because it was interesting to me, but I have to say that I was interested in Shahnameh since I was a child and one of my hobbies was reading the book of Shahnameh stories, and this animation had nothing to say compared to those books.
Maybe it would be better if the years spent making this animation were spent on publishing some illustrated or comic books of the Shahnameh.
Beyond Incomprehensible
yhosseini5 February 2019
I went to the theater hoping to see an animation with at least mediocre quality. I didn't. It was... disappointing, to say the least. It's quite hard to pick out which element was the worst, since the animation falls flat on most of them.
The plot was a twisted and butchered version of the old Persian tale of "Zahhaak" from Shahname. The tale itself is -obviously- a timeless classic. This... "adaptation", however, is a confusing monstrosity. If you are not familiar with this tale, the movie will only make you confused and bored. If you have in fact read or heard it before, the movie will probably make you angry... and again, bored.
The story isn't engaging, nor does it make any sense at times. Major events and plot points are looked over or rushed, and random pointless conversations go on forever and ever. The dialogue is weak, vague and poorly written. The juvenile attempt at making the dialogue seem "old" is very annoying and unbalanced. the English equivalent of some of the lines goes something like this: " Thou shalt get da hell outta here!"
The soundtrack was good overall, but poorly placed in many occasions. The animating itself was quite adequate for an Iranian animation and there were some nice - and bloody- action scenes. But average technique can never make up for a bland and weak script, sub-standard composition and catastrophic directing.
All in all, I didn't enjoy watching the whole thing. Believe me, I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn't. I didn't expect much and yet, I was let down by this less than mediocre waste of talent.
The plot was a twisted and butchered version of the old Persian tale of "Zahhaak" from Shahname. The tale itself is -obviously- a timeless classic. This... "adaptation", however, is a confusing monstrosity. If you are not familiar with this tale, the movie will only make you confused and bored. If you have in fact read or heard it before, the movie will probably make you angry... and again, bored.
The story isn't engaging, nor does it make any sense at times. Major events and plot points are looked over or rushed, and random pointless conversations go on forever and ever. The dialogue is weak, vague and poorly written. The juvenile attempt at making the dialogue seem "old" is very annoying and unbalanced. the English equivalent of some of the lines goes something like this: " Thou shalt get da hell outta here!"
The soundtrack was good overall, but poorly placed in many occasions. The animating itself was quite adequate for an Iranian animation and there were some nice - and bloody- action scenes. But average technique can never make up for a bland and weak script, sub-standard composition and catastrophic directing.
All in all, I didn't enjoy watching the whole thing. Believe me, I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn't. I didn't expect much and yet, I was let down by this less than mediocre waste of talent.
Historical Ego
kia-taheri22 April 2019
The Last Fiction covers a dialectic among necessity and freedom: a historical spirit which has been wandering since the beginning of civilization. This is an ambitious movie which debates the problem of revolution, and evokes this question: Are self-emancipation and liberation just one same thing?
The Last Fiction tells us that the history is not useless papers among old books, rather, it is the spirit of the world we are living in. I admire Hoorakhsh Studios for this practical adaptation, that also has great entertaining aspects and correct use of animation medium.
it was lower than my expectations
Ajfstudio12 January 2021
Not paying attention to the details and the low frame rate was not that much professional and technically it was lower than my expectations.
Regarding the news and advertisments and talking about oscar...!
Generally it was boring and i just watched it because i was curious.
It could be so much better if they had just put more time and energy in it.
Knowing that James cameron waited years for the needed technology and experience and rational budget to make an acceptable movie.
Now all the iraninas who may not even be that much into cinema are going to rate 10 just out of prejudice
Great story
seank20133 December 2020
The Story of Zahhak and Kaveh is one of the greatest parts of Shahnameh. I think Ancient Persia and Persian mythology have so much undiscovered potential. The animation industry in Iran has long way to go and this movie is a great start
An epic animated film for adults and teens
nsina-191341 February 2022
music and arts
mohamadelahi-4441420 December 2021
Do not hurt the hand of the Iranian creator, please support, a lot of effort has been made to create this animation with this style, please just buy the animation and watch to support the creators
This is a genuine Iranian story of Persian civilization, I am really proud of this civilization.
Masterpiece
sobi_spider19 December 2019
Very beautiful animation
mdmcom8 December 2019
madboy137
halalynasb1 February 2022
One of the best films that existed so far in the whole world was the only problem was that the two filth of the actor's film should double, but in any case, if he did not see if you did not see if you did not really love, I really love Ira. Good country of all.
Such as amazing animation
vihano-502821 February 2022
The Great Iran came
yzdvdtnw2 February 2022
Maybe you say this is a copy of lord of rings or something like this. But they are copy of this. Because this story is base of a very very old book name Shahnameh. And that book is base on a old book. Maybe for 4000 years ago. You could imagine how this animation could be great.
Great animation overall
merajdelshad9 April 2021
Okay i give it 8 out of 10 and what i am going to say its probably already noticed by the director itself but i think the project lacked budget.
Good features : great soundtrack Great 2d animation Great enviroment art.
The only problem are the 3d parts of the animation. The animations looks so unrealistic and the models are not good textured to be put in a 2d animation... but as i said these things are pretty noticable and i bet it was a lack in equipment or budget. This is a product of hoorakhsh studios and i personally think its the first iranian animation worth watching.
Good features : great soundtrack Great 2d animation Great enviroment art.
The only problem are the 3d parts of the animation. The animations looks so unrealistic and the models are not good textured to be put in a 2d animation... but as i said these things are pretty noticable and i bet it was a lack in equipment or budget. This is a product of hoorakhsh studios and i personally think its the first iranian animation worth watching.
good for teanagers
rrzzmm-144064 February 2022
A wonderful animation
ghaziyanimahdi4 February 2022
The best animation made in the history of the world
alirezaghorbani-471954 February 2022
Animation. Very valuable and well-made, strong story and great animators. With extremely strong doublers. Directed and written by voice actors, everyone has joined hands to deliver a masterpiece. This is the second godfather.
Excellent
mahdighazyani4 February 2022
Really good
amyrhsynabdy4 February 2022
Top iranian animation
salehierfan-605271 February 2022
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