Representation of boyhood in Iranian cinema of the 1990s

What is it about?

Mohammad-Ali Talebi’s forgotten masterpiece Beed-o Baad (Willow and Wind) (1999) is an Iranian children film written by Abbas Kiarostami, that pays tribute to the children of the post-war generation. As in other children’s films of the period, the young hero has a mission, which he stubbornly pursues. Set in a village in Northern Iran, the story follows the boy’s efforts to repair a broken glass during very stormy weather. This article will examine the visual motives of Willow and Wind (a boy climbing a hill, single trees, wind, rain) paying particular attention to the interaction with nature. The tree and the wind alluded to in the title underline the struggle and determination of Iranian children. In line with the children’s films produced by the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (CIDCYA, aka Kanoon), it applauds the willpower of a generation with enormous responsibilities, while placing his protagonist as a role model for audiences of all ages. However, by rejecting the happy ending, the film opposes the predominant narrative model of Iranian educational films of the 1980s and 1990s while criticizing adults’ treatment of boys in post-revolutionary Iran. In this moral tale, Talebi stresses the dignity and resourcefulness of rural Iran but condemns the solitude of children, and the distance between the worlds of adults and children setting a precedent for future Iranian children’s films.

Featured Image

Photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash

Photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings show that Talebi's film 'Willow and Wind' (Beed-o Baad, 1999) sets a distinct narrative from the child-centered films of the 1990s that will set a precedent for future Iranian films in which the discourses of patriarchy and nationalism overwhelms children’s lives.