Chess of the Wind

Teheran, the beginning of the 20th century. The death of a wealthy matriarch leads to a power struggle between her young paraplegic heiress and her stepfather, nephews, and the local commissar. Chess of the Wind was produced in the mid-1970s but only had one screening before it was banned during the Revolution. The film has been revived with this restoration. Aslani has clear control of the cinematic means: he evenly disperses the information, and the use of the camera is tremendous, with baroques frames and scrumptious movements. As the film progresses, it goes to daring and astounding places, allowing us a glimpse into pre-revolution Iranian cinema.  

CHESS OF THE WIND (Shatranje bad, d. Mohammad Reza Aslani, Iran, 1976) 93'. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, in collaboration with Mohammad Reza Aslani.