The Mythological Hero in the Cinema of Masoud Kimiai

In this article, the hero and hero characteristics in the cinema of Masoud Kimiai have been studied, and also the impact of social situations on the evolution of the hero in pre-revolution and post-revolution of Iran in Kimiai's films are considered. Therefore, “Qeysar”, “Dash Akol” and “Reza, the Motorcyclist” are selected from his films before the Islamic Revolution in Iran and “The Boss”, “Trial on the Street” and “Crime” are three examples of his films after the revolution. The method used in this study is narrative analysis based on the theory of hero archetype by Joseph Campbell. The findings of this study showed that the reflection of social conditions leads to the creation of two different kinds of heroes in the cinema of Masoud Kimiai. Therefore, the heroes in Kimiai’s films, before the Islamic Revolution, have legendary characteristics; nonetheless, in recent years, his narrative view is far from his past one and his heroes, according to social conditions, have sunk in everyday life.