Kalagh (The Raven). 1977. Iran. Written and directed by Bahram Beyzaie. 35mm print courtesy Cinémathèque française. In Persian; English subtitles. 110 min.
The Raven is a first-rate psychological thriller showing writer-director Bahram Beyzaie at the peak of his creativity, a dense and modern puzzle of lost identities that eventually becomes a hymn to the old, prewar Tehran. Produced by Bahman Farmanara, whose films are also included in this series, the story centers on the search for a missing woman. A teacher (Bayzaie regular Parvaneh Massoumi) and a television producer become obsessed with the woman’s identity, their only clue a photograph in the “missing persons” section of the newspaper, and their Hitchcockian quest (with touches of Alain Resnais) offers a rich meditation on the role of modern media in our lives.