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Hidden Half Deploying the Convention of Mainstream Cinema
Smith (2002) stated that the “The Hidden Half” is based on analysing and describing the women’s complexities being interwoven into the intellectual and sentimental aspects. The movie touches a controversial subject in regards to Iranian women. However, the convoluted storyline can be assumed as working against the drama. The movie action spans over a period of 20 years having a series of flashbacks as a husband reads the diary confession of his wife. The movie is based on the controversial political drama that has been a part of Iranian politics embedded with women’s plight and position in the society. There is no doubt that the movie touches social and political aspects of Iran in the most subtle yet controversial manner, the script seems to be quite confused.
However, the movie has been successful in representing the thought processes of women along with justifying the mindset of women having haunting or glorious past along with a confused present making future unpredictable in an easy manner. The movie no doubts belong to the category of mainstream cinema having been successful in generating immense interest among the masses but carries a story that is a part of independent cinema. Thus, there is a tiff between the elements of independent and mainstream cinema within the movie but the direction as well as performance leads to the mainstream direction that also helped in generating political and social responses in a critical manner. The Hidden Half has a message for the society revealing the hidden past of women not being able to communicate to anyone because of the social issues and stigma that has been an innate part of the Iranian culture (Naficy, 1999).
An Overview of the Movie
The movie revolves around the central character of Star Niki Karimi who portrays the role of Fereshteh being a housewife and married to a judge. Her husband is shown to be on his way to meet a women prisoner being accused of murder. However, the husband is not aware of the past of his wife who has been a former political militant. In order to make her husband aware of her past, she writes a long letter detailing her past. Fereshteh has been a Maoist college student in early 70s and has been linked to the all female cell outfitted with Army jackets and carrying protest posters. She is seen as distributing flyers along with raising awareness on political situation prevailing in Iran. In between, she is shown dodging both the police and Islamic militants in a shrewd manner (Thomas, 2001). However, she falls in love with a smooth talker elderly person who is an Editor. The movie shows the political drama revolving around the apolitical belief of a woman falling in love with a man who has been married and keeping her unknown of his present family status. The movie is more like a collage illustrating the Iranian political landscape through a number of words and less images. At the same time, there is a feeling that apart from the character of Fereshteh, all core characters carry a sense of non-believability.
Conventions of Mainstream Cinema Examining Iranian History
In the late 70s and early 80s, the Iranian cinema gained great deal of international appreciation and helped in putting Iranian cinema back on to the international map after years. In early 50s and 60s, majority of the Iranian cinemas were based on melodrama and use of music but things changed drastically as the movies witnessed a sense of realism.
The Iranian cinema history has been quite alluring focusing more on melodramas but after 70s, there was an increase in the artistic work and women were taking initiatives in terms of living unheard and untold characters in their movies. Even the central characters of movies portrayed women who did not find equal place to men in the Iranian constitution. Young (2001) added that women being used as a central character can be termed as n elevation of women in the Iranian society considering the fact that they were allowed to live a role that was never cherished or assumed as significant in the male dominated society. However, women were still making a mark along with challenging the existing notions and beliefs in the society. Chaudhuri (2003, p-48) further added that the middle class women of Iran are often unheard or documented in movies but, The Hidden Half and many other movies depicted the characters of middle class women and their stories in a significant manner.
Dabashi (2001) further added that mainstream cinema is often associated with cinematic and economic success rather than critically acclaimed. However, The Hidden Half carried the elements of critically acclaimed and economically successful movie in an easy manner. The movie showcased the life of a middle class woman who dared to dream along with living her dreams openly rather than in any shadow or guilt. The central character was deeply in love with an older man without knowing his past and once known, left him for her betterment. The movie showcases the ironies of a women who marches on streets to create a revolution along with raising political voice along with showing the emotional and soft side by falling in love and living like any other normal Iranian woman. Young (2001) added that women wearing jackets and raising their voices is not something very common in Iranian society as the political mullah and religious leaders condemn this act.
Still, Fereshteh defied the odds in order to emerge as someone willing to take on the society in the most uncanny manner. There is no doubt that the Iranian society and history has been quite alluring revolving around men’s right and power and repression of women in every account. Still, the movie manages to touch some personal and social aspects that shook the political beliefs and actions within the country. It can be further stated that the mainstream cinema highlighted something that was not appropriate for women living in Iran and led to a sentiments of apathy.
Melodramatic Excess in the Film
In regards to the melodramatic essence, it can be said that in the film, the social forces destroyed the dreams of the protagonist before they even emerged showcasing the bitter indictments of the revolution. However, it was further shown that she gained immense power from the subtle annotation of the revolution that further changed her life. The film was also found tone mixing the political analysis and passion in a dramatic manner. Landesman (2003) further added that, The Hidden Half is superficially more melodramatic story revolving around corruption, adultery, romance, true love, and political revolution. Almost, every possible element of mainstream cinema was visible in the storyline that made it all the more melodramatic. The movie also showcases melodramatic essence in the form of social conservatism thwarting the protagonist. Thomas (2001) further added that the movie highlights Fereshteh falling in love with a magazine publisher who is older to her. However, as the Islamic prosecution for the communist gains momentum, the love between the young and old bud also flourishes only to end in a melodramatic note where her lover arranges her escape to London in order to save her from prosecution (Kohli, 2001).
There is no doubt that the young woman was seen intercepted by the wife of her lover who uses her wealth to save Fereshteh along with helping in moving to a safe haven. Another significant and beyond realism phenomenon was showcased when Fereshteh learns that harsh reality of founding herself identical to the first love of her lover who was his wife’s cousin and by chance a communist. This phenomenon can be assumed as quite dramatic considering the fact that Fereshteh learns about the marriage life of her lover along with witnessing a harsh truth of the past making her realise that her idea of true love was contradicted by living the old memories of former lover (Tapper, 2002). There is no doubt that even though the movie showcases a number of plots that are twisted, it helps in representing the greatest achievements of a woman in the era of revolution where she stood up for her rights and achievements in a commendable manner. The melodramatic essence could have been used in a controlled manner for better degree of presentation (Celizic, 2007).
Silences of the Palace Deploying Conventions Associated with Women’s Films
Silence may be regarded as the successful reinterpretation of the classical women’s films mainly in the form of melodrama for international films and festivals. The focus of the discussion is on understanding how Silences of the Palace has successfully deployed conventions associated with women’s film exploring Tunisian history and society. The focus is more on analysing the status of the film that is more of a feminist and art cinema. The movie “Silences of Palace” is a Tunisian film investigating the issues related to the class, gender, and sexuality in the Arab world. Two perspectives have been shown of two different women belonging to two different generations at a prince’s palace. The movie has been portrayed through the eyes of a young singer exposing social and sexual servitude of women in the palace (Charrad, 2011).
Silences of the Palace and Tunisian History
Despite the relative liberalism of Tunisia in North America, the overall development in regards to the equality between the sexes and cultural modernity remains issues of concern. These phenomenons are yet to be realised in Tunisia at the mass level. The story telling of Tlatli from lenses of Silences of Palace brings back the reality of women in the form of traditionally being kept quiet and voiced being controlled and limited to a great extent. The change in the law and politics has marked little change in the attitude of people when it comes to defining the equality of genders and modernity of women. The cinematic portrayal of women in the film is silent who are willing to compromise to every situation by accepting the prowess of male gender. The story telling from the perspective of a 25 years old woman Alia who returned back to her place of birth brought series of memories drenched in sadness and untold truths of her past (Keith, 2012, p -2).
She dwelled back into the obnoxious lanes of uncertainty to piece together the narrative of her mother’s sexual exploitation in a space driven by gender differences and class segregation. The history of Tunisia has been quite intriguing because of the fact that while being a colony of France, the country witnessed women being suffering for their basic rights. They were majorly veiled with the responsibility of managing domestic tasks. They were often suppressed for their basic rights and equality of genders was a mirage. Silences of Palace showcases the same agony and history of women but from the perspective of two generations. The older generation found it hard to express and ascertain her identity whilst the younger generation was still facing the same suppression and obligations even though living in the modern culture and world. The film proves to be the mirror of the Tunisian history (Salhi, 2007, p-12).
Film’s Status as Both Feminist and Art Cinema
From the analysis, it can be said that the film is all about silence that is a form of art being expressed through emotions and images. The expression of characters and communication of emotions through vivid faces made it an expressive form of art. On the other hand, feminism is another aspect that can be related to the film. The fate of Alia’s mother was dependent on the mercy of rulers who not only ruled her will and desires but also her body by exploiting her (Salhi, 2007, p- 09). She supported the exploitation to an extent and felt helpless during the time of abortion and pregnancy. The same experience was relived by her daughter when she was also facing the abortion even though living in a free and modern world compared to the her mother’s world that was not only oppressed but also exploited. The film revolves around the lives of two women and their rights but revealed oppression under colonialism and oppression under independency. The only sense of feminism was identified when Alia felt the sense of liberation by taking a stand for herself and changing her life for the betterment. Thus, it can be said that even though the film carries two elements in the form of being an art and feminist cinema, the artistic capability outperforms the essence of feminism to an extent.
Based on the discussion, it can be said that the analysis of both the films revealed some interesting truths regarding the Iranian and Tunisian history through the stories of women. Both the movies revealed old cultures and beliefs through vivid images using less words and impressive sound and cinematic appeal. Both the movie had melodramatic essence embedded with artistic appeal that made them appealing and interesting.
Celizic, M (2007) Beyond the veil: Lives of women in Iran. [Online] Available at https://www.today.com/news/beyond-veil-lives-women-iran-2D80555320. [Accessed August 14, 2017]
Charrad M (2011) ”States and Women's Rights: The Making of Postcolonial Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco" University of California Press
Chaudhuri, S (2003) Poetic realism and New Iranian Cinema, Screen Vol.44 No.1 (Spring 2003), p.48.
Dabashi, H (2001) - Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present and Future (London and New York: Verso
Kohli, D (2006) Exposing the Hidden Half. [Online] Available at http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=4585. [Accessed August 14, 2017]
Keith M (2012) The Silences of the Palace / Saimt el qusur. [Online] Available at https://thirdcinema.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/the-silences-of-the-palace-saimt-el-qusur/. [Accessed November 30, 2017]
Landesman, O (2003) - In The Mix: Reality meets fiction in contemporary Iranian cinema, Cineaste, 31, no.3
Naficy, H (1999) ’Iranian Cinema', Rose Issa, Sheila Whitaker (eds.) - Life and Art: The New Iranian Cinema. London: National Film Theatre
Smith, L (2002) Pop Matters. [Online] Available at http://www.popmatters.com/review/two-women/. [Accessed August 14, 2017]
Salhi, K (2007) Imaging Silence—Representing Women: Moufida Tlatli's Silences of the Palace and North African Feminist Cinema. Journal of Film and Video. Volume-20.
Tapper, R (2002) The New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation and Identity, New York: I.B. Tauris
Thomas, K (2001) Hidden Half' Explores the Plight of Women in Iran. [Online] Available at http://articles.latimes.com/2001/oct/05/entertainment/ca-53530. [Accessed August 14, 2017]
Young, D (2001) Review: ‘The Hidden Half’. [Online] Available at http://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/the-hidden-half-1200466728/. [Accessed August 14, 2017]
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