Great Short Films #1: The house is black (1963, Iranian)

Directed by Forugh Farrokhzad, an influential poetess from Iran, and a very controversial figure. This is the only film she had made.

A 22-minute film shows how people live in a real Iranian leper colony, a girl brushes her hair, a man sings, a wedding. Their suffering and weakness are endless sadness. With Farrokhzad's voice speaks for sorrow, recites lines from her poems, Quran and The Holy Book, capturing life and the misery in people faces. It's reality, black reality.

I consider this film an exceptional poetic film. We might find other directors using animation and fantasy, or others depicting the beauty of nature (like Terrance Malik) or surreal images and actions (like Jean Cocteau), or even other atmospheres that may create a beautiful sense of poetry like Kubrick's Odyssey. However, Forugh only used reality to make a poetic film. She showed us suffering ill people with their ugly faces and bodies. Along with her sad words, she created harmony.

At the end of the film, a teacher asks a kid to put the word "house" in a sentence. He holds the chalk and writes "The house is black".