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Mr. Naïve (Agha-ye Halo)
After the experience of making The Cow, Mehrjui was in search of a story or play that he could quickly and easily adapt into a film. His collaboration with Ali Nassirian in The Cow made this possible. By that time, Nassirian’s play Mr. Naïve (Agha-ye Halo) had already been staged four times with his own theater group and had once been performed live on Sabet Pasal Television in 1963.
Mehrjui, who had read the play, said about it:
“The sincerity of [main character] Halo in contrast to the deception and hypocrisy around him was striking. I found this theme very compelling.” (Interview with Mani Haghighi, p. 32)
In other words, the character of Mr. Naïve, like Mash Hassan in The Cow, appealed to Mehrjui. He decided to recreate the experience of The Cow with Mr. Naïve, ensuring that, this time, he would face no censorship issues.
Mehrjui got to work. While the entire play of Mr. Naïve takes place inside Fathollah Khan’s coffeehouse and follows a simple, linear storyline, Mehrjui expanded the narrative by bringing Mr. Naïve from his village (his hometown) into the big city of Tehran. During development of the screenplay, Nassirian worked on the characters and dialogue, while Mehrjui shaped the storyline and cinematic situations. He crafted Mr. Naïve’s journey to the city as a search for a suitable wife.
Like Mash Hassan, Mr. Naïve is an outsider in his new environment. He finds himself in a restless, corrupt city that is incompatible with his nature, ultimately forcing him to leave. Mr. Naïve is a poetry lover, carrying a notebook filled with verses from poets. By the end of the film, however, he stops referencing it, symbolizing his disillusionment. In the city, he meets Mehri, a prostitute, and asks her to marry him, but she rejects his proposal. Mr. Naïve then returns to his village.
Mehrjui wrote a different ending for the film, avoiding the conventional, formulaic resolutions common in Iranian commercial cinema, in which “fallen” women were redeemed through marriage to the protagonist.
In Mr. Naïve, Mehrjui attempts to create social archetypes rather than individualized characters. In this regard, the film succeeds, as its actors effectively embody these different social types. Perhaps the only shortcoming of the film is the lack of depiction of Mr. Naïve’s village, which would have allowed for a stronger contrast between the two environments.
Ali Nassirian delivers one of his best performances in the role of Mr. Naïve, while Ezzatollah Entezami portrays the land dealer, and Fakhri Khorvash plays Mehri. Their performances are among the film’s highlights.
The film was produced in 1969 by Dr. Tabibian at Caspian Studio. It attracted the attention of most critics and received positive reviews. It was also selected for the competition section of the 1971 Moscow Film Festival, where Fakhri Khorvash’s outstanding performance was particularly well received.
Despite some shortcomings, Mr. Naïve remains a socially conscious and critical film, securing its place in the Iranian New Wave movement.
The Postman (Postchi)
Following the release of Mr. Naïve, Mehrjui traveled to Berkeley in San Francisco, where he came across the play Woyzeck by Georg Büchner. He adapted it into an Iranian setting and wrote the screenplay for his next film, The Postman.
Georg Büchner (1813-1837) was a German writer, poet, doctor, and leftist activist. He died at the age of 24, leaving behind only three plays: Woyzeck, Leonce and Lena, and Danton’s Death. Among them, Woyzeck is the most famous. Although the play remained unfinished at the time of Büchner’s death, he had written it up to the point at which Woyzeck kills his wife.
Twelve film adaptations have been made of Woyzeck, the most notable being Werner Herzog’s 1979 version. Mehrjui’s The Postman (1972) is also considered one of the best adaptations.
The play is based on a real-life historical event. It tells the story of Woyzeck, a low-ranking soldier who serves as an officer and sometimes works as a barber for soldiers and junior officers. He lives with a prostitute who has a child. When she becomes involved with another soldier, Woyzeck kills her.
Although the play is a melodrama, had Büchner completed it, it might have become a more overtly political work. Mehrjui, in adapting it, successfully transformed it into a politically charged film.
With great skill, Mehrjui relocated the story’s setting from a military environment to a feudal system, making significant changes to the characters and their relationships. He replaced the officer with a feudal landlord and transformed the doctor into a veterinarian. The young officer who has an affair with Woyzeck’s wife was turned into the landowner’s nephew, a young man recently returned from Europe to manage his uncle’s estate.
In this new setting, Taghi, the postman, and his young and beautiful wife live on the landlord’s estate. Taghi suffers from sexual impotence, and the veterinarian tries to treat him. Meanwhile, the landlord’s nephew begins an affair with Taghi’s wife. A lonely and troubled man, Taghi eventually loses control and kills his wife in a fit of rage.
By skillfully modifying the story’s setting, character relationships, and underlying themes, Mehrjui successfully “Iranianized” Woyzeck, transforming it into The Postman. His masterful adaptation resulted in a film that felt authentic and relevant to Iranian society.
The film was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim. Unlike his absence at Cannes the previous year for The Cow, this time, Mehrjui was present for the screening of The Postman.
The film was later acquired by the French distribution company MK2, founded by Marin Karmitz, but, due to financial reasons, it was not released until years later. Pierre-Henri Deleau, director of the Directors’ Fortnight section, compared Mehrjui’s work to that of Emile Zola.
In Iran, The Postman was released on November 1, 1972, at Capri Cinema. The cast included Ali Nassirian as Taghi, the postman, Jaleh Sam as Taghi’s wife, Ezzatollah Entezami as the landlord, and Ahmadreza Ahmadi and Bahman Forsi in supporting roles. The film was both a commercial and artistic success.
The Cycle (Dayereh Mina)
After the experience of making Mr. Naïve and The Postman, Mehrjui once again collaborated with Gholamhossein Saedi. Together, they adapted Saedi’s story The Junkyard (Ashghaldouni) into a screenplay, resulting in The Cycle (Dayereh Mina), a film that remains one of Mehrjui’s darkest and most politically charged works.
Completed in 1974, The Cycle was an unsettling portrayal of “blood-selling” in Iran, exposing corruption and exploitation in the healthcare system. However, due to its controversial subject matter, the film was banned for three years before finally being released in 1977.
Mehrjui conducted extensive research on the world of blood-selling, vastly expanding upon the brief descriptions found in Saedi’s original story. He created a detailed, immersive cinematic universe, bringing to life the grim reality of individuals who sold their blood for survival.
With a bleak and metaphorical approach, Mehrjui depicted a society trapped in a vicious cycle of suffering and exploitation. The film follows Ali (played by Saeed Kangarani), a young man who takes his ailing father to the hospital. There, he meets Sameri, a blood broker (played by Ezzatollah Entezami), who buys blood cheaply from the poor and addicts, then sells it at higher prices to hospitals. Initially desperate for money, Ali sells his own blood, but he soon becomes Sameri’s assistant, gradually learning the tricks of the trade.
After his father’s death, Ali becomes fully immersed in the blood trade, while also forming a connection with a young nurse (played by Forouzan). Meanwhile, a doctor at the hospital attempts to establish a proper blood bank to eliminate the need for corrupt middlemen like Sameri.
One of the most striking aspects of The Cycle is the transformation of Ali—from a naive, innocent boy into a shrewd and morally compromised intermediary in the blood trade. Through his journey, Mehrjui illustrates how systemic corruption can erode human values and entrap individuals in a cycle of exploitation.
The performances in The Cycle are among the finest in Iranian cinema. Saeed Kangarani delivers a convincing portrayal of Ali’s gradual descent into corruption, while Ezzatollah Entezami masterfully embodies the ruthless and opportunistic Sameri. Mehrjui also cast Forouzan, a popular actress from Iran’s commercial cinema, in an unconventional role as a nurse, and she gave a compelling performance.
While the cinematography by Houshang Baharlou captures the film’s raw and grim aesthetic, the editing by Talat Mirfendereski adds to the film’s impact with its sharp pacing.
Despite its artistic merits, The Cycle was politically sensitive. Produced by a combination of organizations—including Telefilm, the Ministry of Culture and Art, the Iranian Film and Photography Company, and the Iranian Filmmakers Cooperative—the film was nonetheless deemed too critical of the Shah’s government and faced significant censorship issues.
The film was first screened at the Paris Film Festival in the fall of 1977, before being selected for the Berlin Film Festival (1978). It was later officially released in Iran on April 12, 1978, at the Diana and Atlantic cinemas.
Notably, The Cycle became the first Iranian film ever submitted for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards (Oscars). It was also showcased at major international festivals, including The Valladolid Film Festival (Spain), Cinematheque Ontario (Canada), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (USA) and the Hong Kong International Film Festival
Additionally, in February 1979, the film was screened at the Public Theater in New York City, a major center for independent and international cinema.
The Revolutionary Period (1978-1979)
By early 1978, as protests erupted across Iran and tensions escalated, Mehrjui and cinematographer Shahrokh Majidi began documenting the unfolding revolution, capturing hours of footage from the demonstrations on the streets of Tehran and other cities. This footage was later archived by National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT).
During the same period, Mehrjui traveled to Paris, where he, along with filmmaker Parviz Kimiavi, filmed several interviews with Ayatollah Khomeini and his family. These interviews, conducted in Neauphle-le-Château (where Khomeini was exiled at the time), provided rare insights into the cleric’s thoughts on cinema, culture, and governance. (Hamid Naficy, A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 3, Duke University Press, 2012, pp. 56-57)
This interaction played a crucial role in introducing Khomeini to Mehrjui’s work. After the Islamic Revolution, upon returning to Iran, Khomeini was shown The Cow, and he reportedly commented: “Iranian-made films are often better than foreign ones. For example, The Cow is an educational film.” (Meeting with the head of the Iranian National Broadcasting Organization, May 15, 1980. Sahifeh Imam, Vol. 12, pp. 291-292)
This statement was pivotal, as it contributed to the post-revolutionary government’s eventual acceptance of cinema as a legitimate cultural medium, albeit under strict ideological and religious guidelines. It also ensured that Mehrjui and other New Wave filmmakers were allowed to continue working in Iran.
The Backyard of Adl-Afaq School (Hayat-e Poshti-ye Madreseh-ye Adl-Afaq)
In 1980, Mehrjui turned his attention to a film for children. He adapted the novel The Backyard of Adl-Afaq School, written by Fereydoun Dostdar, into a screenplay and directed a feature-length film under the same title. The film was produced by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon Parvaresh Fekri Kudakan va Nojavanan).
The film revolves around the tyrannical principal of Adl-Afaq School, a man who abuses his power to enforce strict discipline. When the students criticize his behavior in their school’s wall newspaper, he orders the publication to be taken down, sparking tensions within the school.
However, the film faced severe censorship and was banned from screening. It remained shelved for nearly a decade until 1989, when it was finally released under a new title: “The School We Went To” (Madreseh-i ke Miraftim). Unfortunately, by then, it had undergone heavy cuts and modifications, reducing much of its original impact.
The film’s banning deeply frustrated Mehrjui, and, in 1980, he left Iran, relocating to Paris for an extended period.
(to be continued)
