Once upon a time, cinema [NTSC] = Nassereddin Shah, actor-e cinema

Once again Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (The Marriage of the blessed, Gabbeh, Kandahar) has created an extraordinary piece of cinema with his tenth feature and first comedy. “Once upon a time, cinema” reflects on the history of Iranian cinema through the eyes of a Charlie Chaplin look-alike cinematographer whose main object in life is to bring the magic and fantasy of cinema to the Shah and his Persian court during the Qajar dynasty. Using excerpts from classic Iranian films, including “Gheisar (1969), “Still life” (1974), “Downpour” (1971) intercut with contemporary black and white footage, Makhmalbaf beautifully intertwines cinematic themes and genres from slapstick, melodrama and adventure to fantasy, surrealism and realism. The characters in the story consist of an eclectic mix, sometimes bordering on the bizarre, which only adds to the surreal tone of this intriguing and fascinating film. Cast includes Ezzatollah Entezami, Mahdi Hashemi, Mohammad Ali Keshavarz, Akbar Abdi, Dariush Arjomand, Faremah Motamed-Aria. (Awards: Istanbul; Karlovy Vary) In Farsi with English subtitles.