SEX AND PHILOSOPHY

Tajikistan/Iran, 2005, 105 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

Sex and Philosophy is a surprising title for a film by an Iranian director, especially Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of the most acclaimed of Iran’s directors (Salaam Cinema, Gabbeh, Kandehar). However, this film was financed especially from companies in France and was filmed in Tajikistan.

The film is intriguing in its use of Tajikistan urban locations. However, the film is a blend of fantasy and realism. The central character on his fortieth birthday gets in touch with women with whom he has had relationships. The meeting place is a music hall, a dance school where, when he meets them, each is involved in a different kind of dance (as well as a different kind of visual colour scheme). As he explains himself, the women react in different ways and are hurt by the revelation. He reviews his own life and its meaning. There are many scenes of long discussion about the relationship, about the passion involved, about the passing of time – and he gives each woman a gift of a stopwatch to measure each minute of true love that they will experience.

However, the tables are turned when the fourth woman arrives and they are to meet at her house – and he finds that he is now one of four lovers of the woman. The men argue amongst themselves and the central character is left alone to reflect on his birthday, his mid-life crisis, the experience of relationships, the relationships between men and women.

This is certainly an art-house film, not a popular entertainment with its focus on the character, the long conversations and its stylised visual impact.