SON OF THE MORNING

Iran, 2011, 120 minutes, Colour.

Son of the Morning is a film about Ayatollah Khomeini as a little boy.

The structure of the film is quite confusing. It opens with a long sequence of a wagon going towards a fort. The young man observes, after a close-up on his eye, and spends about three minutes winding his turban on his head. There is accompanying dramatic music. He then arrives at the fort – and then virtually disappears from the film, appearing in the fort, later with a superimposition of the child portraying Khomeini as a little boy.

There is a death scene, the Ayatollah in his old age, visitors coming to see him (and the focus of the camera on them rather than on him). However, this suddenly occurs about twenty minutes before the end of the film.

There are other confusing sequences. While the film is set in the early part of the 20th century, there is a sudden focus on the wheel of a car, the adult Ayatollah being driven, stopping in the desert, seeming to be shot. It appears that this is a kind of speculative dream on the part of the young child. However, the film ends with the car, the Ayatollah being taken to the airport, being exiled to Turkey, his saying that he was defending his country yet his being exiled.

Which means that the bulk of the film focuses on the little boy – and this is particularly interesting in view of his future. The initial focus is on him and his mother having to go to Tehran in the wagon to ask for justice for her husband’s killer. This theme then is not followed through. The little boy remains at the fort, has various guardians caring for him. However, there are attacks by various militia. The little boy practises with his rifle, a very accurate shot.

The film then shows various episodes, the dangers, the torture of the attendants at the fort, not explaining the political background.

It means then that an Iranian audience, familiar with the life and achievements of the life and achievements of the Ayatollah, will fill in the background. For those not aware of the Ayatollah’s life and career, there are fascinating glimpses, especially with the attention given to the six-year-old boy. However, for an outsider this is a curiosity item rather than a satisfying film – compelling audiences to do further research on the Ayatollah.