Abbas Kiarostami and the Aesthetics of Ghazal

Summary

Out of all the forms of classical Persian poetry, Abbas Kiarostami's filmmaking is closest to ghaal, a subgenre of lyric poetry found in the poems of Hâfez – Khâjeh Shams al-din Mohammad Hâfez Shirazi (d. 1325/26-1389/90). Hâfez used the poetic form of ghazal to articulate his philosophy. The similarities are found both on the philosophical and poetic levels. Hâfez's lyric poetry is related to the particular kind of poetic cinema known as Sinemâ-ye Taghazzoli (roughly translated as lyric cinema), which is reflected in Kiarostami's aesthetics. At the same time, Kiarostami's nonnarrative cinema and especially the formal poetic structure of his films is influenced by the “spatial” poetic discourse in Hâfez's poems. The importance of form in understanding film content is emphasized by André Bazin:

Our intention is certainly not to preach the glory of form over content. Art for art's sake is just as heretical in cinema as elsewhere, probably more so. On the other hand, a new subject matter demands new form, and is as good a way as any towards understanding what a film is trying to say to us is to know how it is saying it.

Hâfez of Shiraz was and still is the most influential poet in the Persianspeaking world. He was born in 1325/26 in Shiraz, in south-central Iran. He memorized the Qur’an by listening to his father's recitations – the name Hâfez means “one who has memorized the Qur’an.” He also memorized many of the works of previous poets such as Sa’di (d. 1292), Attâr (d. 1220), Rumi (d. 1273), and Nezâmi (d. 1209). While still in his early twenties, Hâfez was patronized by Abu Eshâq Inju (1321-57), who held undisputed control of Fars. At this time the city was enjoying relative prosperity after a period of anarchy and economic hardship under Mongol rulers. When Hâfez was 33, the Mozaffarid dynasty (1314-93) Amir Mobâriz al-Din Mohammad Mozaffar, invaded his hometown. Later, when he fell out of favor with Shah Shojâ’ of the Mozaffarid dynasty, he had to flee to Esfahan.

At the age of 52, at Shah Shojâ's invitation, Hâfez returned to Shiraz from exile. Between 1358 and 1368 he was reinstated to his post at the college, where he taught theology and wrote commentaries on religious classics. In the late 1380s, Shah Mansur Mozaffari became his patron.