When we discuss a filmmaker’s work, we mostly tend to focus on their full-length features. Often, we overlook important works such as documentaries, short films, and even the commercials. To fully appreciate their artistry, we should consider these other forms of storytelling as vital as the full-length features. Abbas Kiarostami is regarded as one of the greatest Iranian filmmakers. He is celebrated for films like “Close-Up,” “Where Is the Friend’s House?,” “Taste of Cherry,” “Shirin,” and “24 Frames.” However, he created many short films throughout his career such as “The Bread and the Alley,” “Two Solutions to One Problem,” “Solution One,” “Recess,” and “The Chorus” that reflect his mastery of artistry and portray a broader picture of his cinematic journey. These films capture contemporary Iran from a unique insider’s perspective, mirroring the societal zeitgeist on a deeper level.
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As a result of its rich oil revenue and increasing cultural links to the West, in 1969 Iran was enjoying a relative cultural thaw. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, based in the city of Kanoon, invited Abbas Kiarostami to establish its film division. For the next decade and so, he made several short films with the Institute’s support alongside his feature film endeavors. And among them ‘The Chorus’ perhaps is one of the most significant achievement of his artistic career.
“The Chorus” tells the story of an old man with hearing impairment who accidentally locks his young granddaughters out of the house. They gather their classmates to join them in a chant that eventually gains his attention.
What starts as an innocent illustration of life in fundamentalist Iran, soon carries subtle political undertones. Kiarostami uses stark symbolism to address the restrictions on Iranian women during that era. The fundamentalist regime of Ayatollah Khomeini failed to emancipate women and their rights, and the act of locking the granddaughters outside serves as an allegory for this oppression.
Yet, amidst this restriction, the call for resistance prevails. It’s tempting to interpret the film as a subtle plea for further reform in Iranian society. While the revolutionaries of 1979 remain absent, the next generation of Iranian women beckons to the distant, heedless patriarch who governs their destiny: “Open the gate!” This patriarch symbolizes the fundamentalist regime, and his hearing impairment reflects the regime’s ignorance of these issues. He becomes so isolated from the outside world that he indulges in comforts—feeding pigeons in the square, window shopping for baroque light fittings, savoring horseradish, and enjoying an afternoon cigarette.
Above all, “The Chorus” can be viewed as a vision of utopia. The film’s aesthetics support this idea. The luminous soft focus gives it a dreamy quality—a dream for women’s emancipation that has yet to arrive, even after the promised new dawn of the revolution. The contrast between children and an old man in the narrative emphasizes the need for a new world carved from the old.
Recently, as women in Iran take to the streets for their rights, their actions highlight the dire state of women’s rights in this fundamentalist country. As a true artist, Kiarostami likely sensed this in his time. To call for a true revolution, he crafted a unique tale of resistance with his whimsical narrative style and humanism, remaining ahead of its time.
