This afternoon we watched the film by Shirin Neshat. WOMEN WITHOUT MEN is Neshat's independent film adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur's magic realist novel. The story chronicles the intertwining lives of four Iranian women during the summer of 1953; a cataclysmic moment in Iranian history when an American led, British backed coup d'état brought down the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, and reinstalled the Shah to power.
I had not read the book, but a few of the others had, and after viewing it there was a facinating discussion about the differences between the two. A major charcater from the book is missing from the film and some thought it was a mistake and wondered what was the reasoning. Those who had read the book seemed to "read" the film a little differently than thos of us who hadn't.
Neshat's work is visually splendid and this film is no exception. It was also wonderful to compare it with this mornings work . especially the use of colour. Both have a sort of washed out aesthetic and use of light.
Monica finished the discussions with a reading from the book. We all left for the evening exhausted yet exhilarated, full of ideas. I personally will be sorry to have the workshop end tomorrow, but my tired old body will not. xx
