Dialogism in the Movie of the Brick and Mirror (Khesht va Ayeneh) (1965) by Ebrahim Golestan

The second Pahlavi reign implemented many policies with distinct intention of modernization. With such grand vision for the country, this changes ultimately had great impact on the arts and their direction within the country. One such discipline was in theatre and the film industry. , Iran launched an unconventional cinematic trend after the announcement and implementation of policies based on the expansion of capitalist relations and political repression of dissidents through modernization of Iranian society during the second Pahlavi ruling in 1950s and 1960s. Various reasons can be identified for this evolution; but undoubtedly Iranian filmmakers associated with the literary circles of the Iranian community in the context of modernization and adaptation of modern cinema, were one part of these major changes. Khesht va Ayeneh (1344) by Ebrahim Golestan, is an exemplary film that both the content and form are different and innovative. Khesht va Ayeneh in addition to being affected with the new wave of cinema before the Revolution, is completely in contrast to the direction of those years in which cinema was heavily indebted to European artistic cinema. Mise en scène and the movement of the camera, the editing film as well as screenplay and dialogue writing style that were influenced by modern literature, are some of the key components that have become fundamental characteristics in Golestan's movie. Realistic and symbolic language come together in Khesht va Ayeneh, in the other words, while the film defines a realistic story, with the help of dialogue, filming technique, framing and so on, it takes a modern, metaphorical and poetic form to itself. This is how the use of symbolism and poetic language along with realistic logic creates the element of atmosphere in classic cinema as well as in the language of film. The main theme in Khesht va Ayeneh is the collapse of human relations and their sacrifice in traditional society juxtaposed with the challenges of modernity, a reflection of the society at that time. Mikhail Bakhtin, one of the main theorists of the twentieth century literature, suggests that the logic of conversation is a way to order a modern literary structure. His focus on literature is completely related to linguistic structure and structuralism. One of Bakhtin’s main theories is that words are social signs of active and dynamic implications that reflect different meanings among different social classes as well as various social and historical conditions. Bakhtin presented the works of Feodor Dostoyevsky as a Russian example for Dialogism theory. Dostoyevsky's stories are multi-sound and polyphonic structure. Dostoevsky does not impose his views as an author, but each of the story characters have their own logic and sound and freely can express their own statement. Khesht va Ayeneh is based on this theoretical analysis. The purpose of this study is a cross-examination of how conjunction of literary art and theater changes with the modernization of this period. Khesht va Ayeneh features the views of Bakhtin and his conversational logic, mirroring modern narrative techniques in literature, which in turn becomes an influential focal point for some leading Iranian filmmakers.