“Kiarostami” believed that you cannot become international until you are local
Charso Press: Referring to the public relations of the Cinema Museum, in this workshop, Shahmohammadi pointed out the importance of knowing the story and looking at life in screenwriting and said: What distinguishes screenwriters is that they know the story and look at life well. Genre Renoir says, “Directors of the first generation looked at life and made good films. The directors of the second generation looked at the films of the directors of the first generation and life and made good films. But the third generation filmmakers only looked at the films of the first and second generation directors and did not make good films, so you should not be disconnected from the flow of life.
He added: American filmmaker John Huston believes that “the camera has two states; standing and sitting” John Ford also says “use and take the camera”. What distinguishes the special cinema from the usual cinema is the script, otherwise the directing techniques are easily learned. Michael Haneke’s film “Hidden” does not have any unconventional techniques in terms of directing, and what distinguishes this film from other films is its look at life and special storytelling.
Saying that Abbas Kiarostami was a good storyteller, Shah Mohammadi said: Kiarostami consciously went towards the less story-telling cinema of “Taste of Cherry” and “Close-up”. As you know, Close-up is a very good movie that has its fans all over the world, so that a site called “Vegetables” was launched in Belgium, which was the main character of this movie. Close-up has seven viewing angles; In fact, I can say that there are seven voices in this film, this approach is known as polyphonic or multi-voiced in the world cinema, that the director does not consider his own look to be superior to all other looks and also cares about other looks and sounds in his film.
Shahmohammadi also pointed to the influence of archetypes in screenwriting and said: First, we should know what an archetype is. From the very beginning, before man became civilized, he made stories about things he saw and did not understand or neither saw nor understood. The story made his fear of the unknown disappear. Such as not understanding the rising of the moon, the setting of the sun, the multiplicity and existence of stars, life, birth, death, etc. Mythology of human societies is based on archetypes, that is why it is important for writing that you master archetypes.
Referring to the importance of local archetypes, he also said: Abbas Kiarostami believed that you cannot become international unless you are local. In addition, the archetypes caused the formation of an important branch called comparative literature because all archetypes eventually reach the same root and institution and all heroes are heroes. The same concept that Joseph Campbell puts forward in the book Hero with a Thousand Faces. Archetypes evolved in various societies and were added or subtracted from them. Like the story of Rostam and Sohrab Shahnameh, which has a parallel in other cultures, such as ancient Greek tragedies.
Shahmohammadi continued: Today, Hollywood cinema feeds on archetypes and does it well, gradually moving towards the combination of archetypes. European cinema has also been feeding on archetypes for decades. In the movie “Persona”, Bergman refers to the person and the character inside him and his mask. Steve McQueen’s film “Shame” also emphasizes human issues as archetypal relationships. In this way, human issues and the feeling of life and death and human existence over the millennia caused the emergence of archetypes. When you talk about these issues in the film, the film gains meaning and depth and goes beyond the superficial and mundane issues.
About the types of characters in different situations, he added: There are four combinations: a normal person in an abnormal situation, an abnormal person in a normal condition, an abnormal person in an abnormal condition, and a normal person in a normal condition. position
Shah Mohammadi also said about the difference between a dramatic character and a stereotypical character: a real or dramatic character is called a three-dimensional character, in contrast to which a flat or two-dimensional character is placed. 3D characters are connected to the universe and point to reality; Like the example of the dear participant who wrote that the therapist needs treatment the most. On the other hand, stereotypical characters proceed according to predetermined patterns. On the other hand, since dramatic characters refer to the facts, they produce stories with the depth of existence and the reality of life, but stereotypical characters produce predictable two-dimensional stories.
He also said about the stock character: these characters are based on the design of the stereotypical character in terms of characteristics, but they are also different from the stereotypical characters. For example, the characters have a teacher and mentor who walks the path and gives information to our character and becomes his guide to reach his goal. The main character is the protagonist and the stock characters help the main character to recognize or believe in his own qualities that he does not believe.