Marriage of the Blessed

I just watched a film from my Iranian cinema course that was so great that I had to share. Marriage of the Blessed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf is visually arresting. It reminded me of the weirdest parts of Requiem for a Dream, and had this overwhelming sense of unease that felt much like David Lynch's work (particularly Eraserhead). The editing and cinematography of the film were astounding--relying on clever camerawork and match-cuts to make connections between Haji's modern, "civilized" surroundings and the war-torn, hostile environment of his thoughts and memories. It was hard to find footage or stills from this, as it's certainly a lesser known work, but this clip is exemplary of the style of "flashback" the film relies on.

The character I most sympathized and identified with was Haji's long-suffering fiancee/wife Mehri. She was both the strongest character in the film, as well as the strongest woman. She even had her own exhibition of photography--how cool is that?