Tranquility in the Presence of Others
Aramesh Dar Hozor-e Digaran
Nasser Taghavi’s poignant, tough-minded 1969 adaptation of a story by Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi.
A key work of the Iranian New Wave, Tranquility in the Presence of Others attacks the impotence and empty rhetoric of Iranian intellectuals in the face of a stubbornly patriarchal and authoritarian society. Banned after a single screening at the Shiraz Arts Festival of 1969 – a ban that was not removed until 1973 – it tells the story of a retired army colonel who travels to Tehran with his newlywed wife to visit his daughters, only to be dismayed by their unhappiness and casual affairs. As his mental condition deteriorates, the film’s tone shifts from sardonic to tragic.
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Iranian New Wave: 1962–79 and the original film program it is based on are curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, Codirector, Il Cinema Ritrovato, with Joshua Siegel, Curator, and La Frances Hui, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
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