Downpour

Downpour is love that blooms in the rain, yet withers before it can blossom.

Downpour is love that blooms in the rain, yet withers before it can blossom.

Downpour (1972), an Iranian film of the pre-revolution, was restored in 2011 from its last surviving positive. Every other copy had been lost or destroyed by the Iranian government, so it was almost lost forever. A pretty amazing restoration, but the Criterion version can feel more like a stitching of parts rather than a cohesive film. Lots of dialogue with missing or un-synced subtitles, for example. It’s sometimes unclear whether the associative montage feeing is intentional or an artifact of the restoration work. Either way, the English-speaking viewer will be left to fill holes and make guesses on plot points. 

Thankfully, the photography is beautiful and the characters are compelling enough to follow along anyway. The film is nice. The story, about a lovestruck teacher who’s isolated in a small rural town, strikes a nice balance between social realism and earnestness.

Downpour (1972), an Iranian film of the pre-revolution, was restored in 2011 from its last surviving positive. Every other copy had been lost or destroyed by the Iranian government, so it was almost lost forever. A pretty amazing restoration, but the Criterion version can feel more like a stitching of parts rather than a cohesive film. Lots of dialogue with missing or un-synced subtitles, for example. It’s sometimes unclear whether the associative montage feeing is intentional or an artifact of the restoration work. Either way, the English-speaking viewer will be left to fill holes and make guesses on plot points. 

Thankfully, the photography is beautiful and the characters are compelling enough to follow along anyway. The film is nice. The story, about a lovestruck teacher who’s isolated in a small rural town, strikes a nice balance between social realism and earnestness.