Synopsis
A young man, suffering from loss of memory, drifts in on a canoe onto the shore of the Persian Gulf. He falls in love with a beautiful village woman and settles down, until strangers come from the sea.
Stranger and the Fog
Cast
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Cinematography
Art Direction
Costume Design
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Alternative Titles
Gharibeh Va Meh, Незнакомец и туман, 陌生人与雾
Genre
Releases by Date
Premiere
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Canada
Toronto Film Festival
29 Oct 2023
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India
Jio MAMI Film Festival
Releases by Country
Canada
18 Oct 1976
- Premiere Toronto Film Festival
India
29 Oct 2023
- Premiere Jio MAMI Film Festival
Popular reviews
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Beguiling if also bewildering, this newly-restored pre-’79 Iranian rarity is ultimately elusive and muddling in its thematic exploration of paranoia, traditions and taboos, as a mysterious wounded man drifts ashore on a boat.
Review - wp.me/pat7iE-6aD
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Elements of the structure recall The Unchanging Sea, Enoch Arden, possibly even Tabu, but I found it unusually difficult to find its wavelength. Perhaps in the future this will seem to me like one of its strengths.
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One of a kind. Man washes up ashore and changes peoples’ lives is a tale as old as time, and yet, it feels both out of time and timeless here.
A lot of that is down to the the production design, the cinematography, the costumes, and the location coming together to form a truly unique vision, realised by Beyzai. And what a restoration of this film; I was blessed to be able to see these images in that colour on the big screen.
Can absolutely see why this film was banned by the then Iranian government. It’s quite ahead of its time in its portrayal of a woman’s agency as well as sexuality. Should dig out as many banned Iranian films from this era. The only other one I’ve checked out, Chess of the Wind, was spectacular in its atmosphere and style as well, just like this one.
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I too would give up my life for Parvaneh Massoumi if I saw her smile at me. A cross-section between Kurosawa, Jodorowsky, and shades of Tarkovsky by way of proto-folk horror and fantasy, basically everything I want to see in a film. Gripping, funny, romantic, and so beautifully composed. The last 30 minutes of this goes fuckin NUTS and that final shot is unreal. Restoration looks gorgeous. Catch this if you can!!!!
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Gonna have to let it stew for a while, but this will probably turn out to be my favourite discovery of this year's Cinema Ritrovato. Visually it's certainly the most unique experience I've had in quite a while.
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absolutely enthralling in parts (some of those shots and sequences.... wow), but unfortunately, this feels extremely disjointed - especially with those extended theatrical running and fighting scenes with belly laughing and odd bits of misogyny that just don't gel with the rest of the film
the film is aging well for me though! especially since the campiness present in the film seems to be intentional and not just borne from a lack of budget. even the more frustrating, long, ritualistic scenes are a very interesting ethnographic look at a part of Iran that is so rare to see in cinema.
very glad i got to see the restoration of this in a cinema - wouldn't have missed it for the…
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I think this is a masterpiece? rain drenched immersive allegorical fusion of spaghetti western and the seventh seal and mizoguchi with belly laughs and deep tragedy and some of the best textiles I’ve ever seen.
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good movie
is it annoying to say this reminded me of the holy mountain more than anything?
surreal, at times goofy, melodramatic, slapstick, then at times a deadly serious political parable.
on the politics: the climactic scene would almost definitely be understood as a reference to the siakhal incident & the marxist guerilla groups fighting in iran through the early 70s. the main guy's mustache would've been read as the style of the left-wing radicals of the time, and especially stands out amongst the normal villagers. movie seems to understand their struggle as both obviously heroic yet sometimes kind of silly.
however i call it parable b/c movie attempts to take place outside of any particular space & time for a more…
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Half of this film is just people screaming.
All 3 stars for Parvaneh Massoumi. If she told me not to raise my voice I would simply stfu forever -
Good! The sea and the fog are used as intricate enveloping structures for a surreal domestic drama (that then tips somewhere bigger and more fatal); the cinematography for exploring weather, specifically, enters surrealism freely and inventively, with formal assertiveness, stabilisation, and symmetry, nonetheless.
Parvaneh Massoumi is so commanding; the costume design is SICK; some of the fight scenes are very sick too, and it all felt very pioneering to me.
Separately, kept laughing at the inability of anyone to un-70s the hair of the main guy. It was just so recognisably 70s. What a laugh!
I also got soooooooo sleepy, sadly! I fear that LFF crowned me world’s sleepiest girl today!
