
Still from The Cow, 1969, dir. Dariush Mehrjui Image courtesy of Iranian.com
The Cow follows the story of a farmer who owns the only cow in his village. The cow dies, and unable to cope with its loss, the farmers grief turns into madness and he gradually takes on the identity of the cow.
Although it had been funded by the Shahs government, The Cow was banned by the Ministry of Culture because of its raw portrayal of impoverished conditions in rural Iran and only released in 1970, a year after its completion, with an added statement that dated the story many years back. In 1971 it was smuggled to the Venice Film Festival and, unprogrammed and unsubtitled, it turned out to be the event of that years festival. It is now considered to be one of Irans most important films.
See also:
openDemocracys debate on Iran Democracy and Iran
The Lizard: Iran in the cinemas gaze, Rouzbeh Pirouz
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