The Last Fiction (2018) Reviews

• A Persian Lord of the Rings

  corrosion-22019-04-04

  Though Iranian cinema is one of the well-known and respected members of the global world of cinema, thanks to filmmakers such as Kiarostami, Farhadi, Panahi, etc.; none of the Iranian films that have made a mark on the world stage have been animations. A few amateurish Iranian animations, targeted strictly at kids, have had some local box office success but they've not been of a standard which could be exhibited in foreign markets. However, with The Last Fiction, this pattern is set to change. The Last Fiction is an animation film based on the stories of The Shahnameh, a massive 11th-century work by Persian poet Ferdowsi, arguably the greatest book in the Persian language. A sort of Persian Lord of the Rings, written all in verse, it tells the stories of legends, heroes and villains, monsters and myths. In the opening credit sequence of the Iranian-American director Ramin Bahrani's recent remake of Fahrenheit 451, The Shahnameh is one of the great works of world literature which is shown burning. A young Iranian animation director, Ashkan Rahgozar, for his feature film debut, has somehow not only found financial backers for this ambitious project but has also amassed a galaxy of Iranian film stars to voice the characters. Rahgozar wisely uses only a miniscule part of the Shahnameh and focuses on the stories of the evil ruler Zahak, his young nemesis Afaridoun and, what must be one of the earliest working-class heroes in literature, Kaveh, the Blacksmith. All the traditional elements of such stories are there: sword and sorcery, monsters, a love story, setbacks and triumphs. The animation techniques used in The Last Fiction are head and shoulders above all the other Iranian animated films and compare favourably with great works of world animation. Using beautifully drawn animations, supplemented by powerful music and backed by a strong narrative, The Last Fiction is a highly impressive debut and a landmark in the history of Iranian cinema. Though familiarity with stories and legends of The Shahnameh helps, even those unfamiliar with this book, should be able to follow the narrative without any difficulty and take pleasure in its audio-visual delights.

• Iranian mythology on big screen

  gheitasy-samin2019-04-29

  Watching the Last Fiction was an overwhelming experience. Seeing Iranian mythological characters getting some well-deserved screen time, beyond their literary and often formal context, which for some of us is not so easy to grasp, was exhilarating. The Persian Book of Kings' stories have been woven in Iranian culture, but rarely the tales and the remarkable characters of this book have been portrayed in a cinematic feature, for everyone, regardless of their literary knowledge or interest. This lighthearted adaptation of one of the most adored Persian myths, was quite captivating and left many to want to see more.

• Historical Ego

  kia-taheri2019-04-22

  The Last Fiction covers a dialectic among necessity and freedom: a historical spirit which has been wandering since the beginning of civilization. This is an ambitious movie which debates the problem of revolution, and evokes this question: Are self-emancipation and liberation just one same thing? The Last Fiction tells us that the history is not useless papers among old books, rather, it is the spirit of the world we are living in. I admire Hoorakhsh Studios for this practical adaptation, that also has great entertaining aspects and correct use of animation medium.

• Beyond Incomprehensible

  yhosseini2019-02-05

  I went to the theater hoping to see an animation with at least mediocre quality. I didn't. It was... disappointing, to say the least. It's quite hard to pick out which element was the worst, since the animation falls flat on most of them. The plot was a twisted and butchered version of the old Persian tale of "Zahhaak" from Shahname. The tale itself is -obviously- a timeless classic. This... "adaptation", however, is a confusing monstrosity. If you are not familiar with this tale, the movie will only make you confused and bored. If you have in fact read or heard it before, the movie will probably make you angry... and again, bored. The story isn't engaging, nor does it make any sense at times. Major events and plot points are looked over or rushed, and random pointless conversations go on forever and ever. The dialogue is weak, vague and poorly written. The juvenile attempt at making the dialogue seem "old" is very annoying and unbalanced. the English equivalent of some of the lines goes something like this: " Thou shalt get da hell outta here!" The soundtrack was good overall, but poorly placed in many occasions. The animating itself was quite adequate for an Iranian animation and there were some nice - and bloody- action scenes. But average technique can never make up for a bland and weak script, sub-standard composition and catastrophic directing. All in all, I didn't enjoy watching the whole thing. Believe me, I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn't. I didn't expect much and yet, I was let down by this less than mediocre waste of talent.