Before the Revolution, Movie Review

At a time when Israel experiences a persistent threat from Iran’s nuclear capabilities and its subversive presence in the bordering countries of Syria and Lebanon, Director Dan Shadur, in his documentary Before the Revolution, tells the story about Israel's economic and political presence in Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This ex-patriot community enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and close relations with the Shah’s regime, built on weapon sales in exchange for oil and construction contracts, among other things. Through the film’s unique angle, the viewer not only learns about the utopian-like lifestyle of Israeli families living in Iran in the ‘60s and 70s, but the ever increasing discontent among the Iranian people which led to the fall of the Shah and the rise of the Islamic Revolution.

Dan Shadur tells the story through the use of a rich collection of home movies, archival footage and interviews, with diplomats, Mossad agents, businessmen and their families. The Islamic Revolution encroaches on them unexpectedly turning their paradise into horror and shattering their dreams of continued wealth and opulent lifestyle. The director is personally invested in this story because his family was a part of this experience and he uses excerpts from family letters and his home movies in the film.

I took Sharona and Cyrus, two individuals in my Iran documentary, to the film. For them it was a nostalgic experience; they liked seeing the sights of Teheran, like the Shahyad Monument, close to where their aunt lived, and hearing David Menashri, a professor at Tel Aviv University, discuss Persian poetry that explains how Persians are different from Arabs. Shadur’s film did not weave in the experience of Iranian Jews at the time, and I wondered if there was any intersection between the two communities. I was disappointed that the National Center for Jewish Film did not reach out to the Iranian Jewish community in the Greater Boston area; we realized that Sharona and Cyrus were the only representatives in the audience.

I hope to have the opportunity to see the film again, so I can learn from and gain a deeper understanding of the filmmaking apparatuses Dan Shadur used to tell this story. He used 4 by 3 home movies and archival footage and seamlessly blended these with the 16 by 9 interview footage. At times he did use jump cuts in the interviews, but this didn’t affect the flow or quality of the film. Many of his interviews were artfully done with a shallow depth of field. The story arc was well-conceived and led to a dramatic crescendo as the discontent in Iran increased and Israelis found themselves in a vulnerable and unsafe situation. The film stirred a balance of emotions in the viewers: a few of the anecdotes were humorous and generated laughter while others were riveting and had the audience on the edge of their seats.

While this film does approach the history of the period from a unique perspective, this is a worthwhile film for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Islamic Revolution of 1979.