A Moment of Innocence
When is a
self-reflexive film not an annoying, egocentric, indulgent piece of crap?
Judging by this film, the answer is, when it's made by acclaimed Iranian
filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Almost the Iranian equivalent of a "Dogme
95" film, A Moment of Innocence stars Makhmalbaf
as himself, trying to cast and shoot a scene from his young life, an incident
in which he stabbed a policeman and was thrown in jail. Also present is the
actual policeman, now 20 years older and helping to cast and prepare the young
actor who'll be portraying him onscreen. How "real" any of this all
is is in question: The incident was real, the
policeman is the real guy, but the whole thing is filmed far too well to be a
pure documentary (with cameras in places they couldn't possibly be without some
kind of preparation). Not that that affects the quality of the film in any way:
A Moment of Innocence certainly ranks as one of the best movies ever
made about the process of making a movie. Ranging from poignant (Makhmalbaf tries to recruit the girlfriend he lost while in
prison) to humorous (the cop tries to insist that he play himself 20 years
younger, or at the very least that a glamorous model-type be cast), Makhmalbaf manages to reach deeper truths than the simple
act of youthful rebellion being re-created, and he shows all perspectives in a
sort of postmodern Rashomon style. The film
effectively transcends cultural boundaries, and should resonate with viewers
young and old despite the unfamiliarity of the setting (tellingly, and sadly,
the film has been banned in