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A long-lost masterpiece of 1970s Iranian cinema finally re-emerges on the big screen.
Awash in a sea of scheming men, including relatives, romantic suitors and her mother’s second husband, a paraplegic Persian heiress clings on to her fortune at all costs. Finding comfort and confidence in her wily handmaiden, she plots to do away with her rivals – but little does she know that her accomplice has ambitions of her own.
Bursting with colour and touching on taboo themes such as women’s rights, same-sex desire and government oppression, Mohammad Reza Aslani’s giallo-infused Gothic thriller was banned soon after release. It was considered lost for decades until 2014, when a film print was discovered in an antique shop by Aslani’s son, who proceeded to smuggle it out of Iran to evade further censorship. Newly restored with the assistance of Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, Chess of the Wind is a stunning achievement of pre-revolution Iranian cinema.
“Manages to brilliantly oscillate between art house aesthetics and B-movie sleaze … A shining example of how familiar genres and tones can meld together to form something that feels brand new.” – The Film Stage