An Analysis of Iranian New Wave Cinema through the Films of Masoud Kimiai

This essay analyzes Kimiai’s films as reflections of societal conditions.

Author: Amirreza Fakhri

Every time I review a film from the history of world cinema, I inevitably recall the history of Iranian cinema. Iranian cinema is an inseparable part of world art history and has consistently played a significant role in spreading culture across the globe. The seventh art is like a pearl that captivates people—no speech, even that of a dictator, can attract audiences like cinema.

Iranian cinema has always experienced ups and downs. Unfortunately, in the past decade, it has failed to play a significant global role—mainly due to censorship, emigration, and prevailing social conditions in Iran. In this article, I first analyze Iranian New Wave cinema and then examine the cinema of Masoud Kimiai.

Masoud Kimiai is a filmmaker who inscribed a golden chapter in the history of Iranian cinema. His films remain relevant and instructive, creating characters who, in turn, serve society. Kimiai is an inseparable figure in Iranian cinema—a unique human being and a valuable artist.

The Cow by Dariush Mehrjui, Qeysar by Masoud Kimiai, and Tranquility in the Presence of Others by Nasser Taghvai are widely regarded as the main representatives of this cinematic wave. However, signs of the New Wave emerged earlier, in the early 1960s, with films such as The House is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad), The Serpent (Hajir Dariush), Brick and Mirror (Ebrahim Golestan), and Night of the Hunchback (Farrokh Ghaffari), all made in reaction to commercial Persian cinema.

New Wave cinema expanded in two main directions: one focused on personal and abstract films, including works like Regen, Cheshmeh, A Simple Event, Prince Ehtejab, The Cycle, and The Postman; and another on socially engaged, commercially viable films like Escape from the Trap, Three Brothers, Goodbye Friend, The Pigeon, Reza, the Motorcyclist, and The Deer—many of which were inspired by the success of Qeysar.

New Wave filmmakers had a deeper understanding of cinema as an art form and were heavily influenced by contemporary Iranian literature. A defining characteristic of Iranian New Wave cinema is its strong connection with modern literature.

Amid the general decline of Iranian cinema in the years preceding the revolution, the New Wave slowed due to increasing censorship and the filmmakers’ inability to appeal to audience tastes. It effectively came to a halt on the eve of the 1979 revolution with the failure of several films.

However, a new wave of Iranian cinema began in 1984 with The Runner (Amir Naderi), which once again drew global attention. This resurgence continued with directors such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohammad Reza Aslani, Asghar Farhadi, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Majid Majidi, Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Abolfazl Jalili—earning prestigious awards for Iranian cinema.

In recent years, a neorealist trend has emerged in Iranian cinema, particularly visible in the works of Asghar Farhadi.

This essay analyzes Kimiai’s films as reflections of societal conditions. The objective is to identify narrative elements in Kimiai's films that represent prominent social issues of their respective periods. Artists express social realities in different ways—some focusing on internal matters, others adopting a broader, societal perspective. Kimiai belongs to the latter group, with a holistic view of social issues.

Kimiai’s films—both pre- and post-revolution—are deeply rooted in social critique through beloved characters who play central roles. He acts as a social theorist and the narrator of his era’s concerns.

This essay employs the theory of reflection, which sees art as a mirror of society, analyzing the compatibility of media messages with social facts. While theorists differ in their approaches, many agree that cinema reflects society. This essay, following Lucien Goldmann’s theory, investigates how social structures are revealed in Kimiai’s films.

Goldmann’s evolutionary structuralism seeks to uncover the mental structures of a social class as reflected in artistic works. He views art as a collective expression of ideology—a social rather than individual phenomenon—reflecting the dominant ideology of an era.

Using qualitative analysis, the essay examines five Kimiai films as representations of five eras in modern Iranian history: Qeysar (1969) for the awakening era, Stone Journey (1977) for the revolutionary period, Snake Fang (1989) for the war era, Sultan (1996) for the reconstruction era, and Objection (1999) for the reform era.

The analysis demonstrates that these films effectively highlight the core concerns of their time. Through them, society is observed from an external vantage point. Kimiai’s deep social insight is especially evident in Stone Journey, which foresaw the revolution a year before it occurred.

Why is Qeysar important? Although it was Kimiai’s second film, its cultural impact has led many to consider it his true debut. Its release coincided with Dariush Mehrjui’s The Cow, forming a symbolic cornerstone of the Iranian New Wave. Qeysar emerged from the heart of working-class neighborhoods and markets, offering authentic voices.

Qeysar is not a slogan or a negation of identity, but a bridge that saved Iranian cinema from vulgarity and the cultural shifts of the Pahlavi era. It conveyed rebellion through narrative and helped reframe Iranian cinema. Qeysar was a protest against ignorance and an affirmation of human dignity.