The film centers round the character of Sattar Khan, an Iranian national figure who played a key role in the Constitutional Movement of the early 20th century.
“We faced many problems in the production of ‘Sattar Khan’,” one of the leading actors of the film Ezzatollah Entezami remarked.
“Shooting began in Tabriz in the summer of 1972 and ended in Tehran in the winter. We had a hard time due to a shortage of facilities, and unfortunately the film didn’t receive the necessary support,” he added.
“Ali Hatami began making the film at a time when historical projects were being ignored. Thus his move into this field should be appreciated,” Entezami noted.
“The film is better than many of the works that are now being made in Iranian cinema. Many films have featured the Constitutional Movement but Ali Hatami has chosen the right atmosphere for his film, and I personally believe that there is no one yet who can write as well as Hatami does,” he explained.
Hatami developed a special filmmaking style of his own that was characterized by rhythmic dialogues and a traditional Iranian ambiance.
Many of his films and TV series including “Haji Washington”, “Kamalolmolk”, “Jafar Khan Returns from Europe”, and “Punishment Committee”, “Hezardastan” have highlighted Iranian historical events.
He died of blood cancer at the age of 52 before finishing his last film, “World Champion Takhti”, however it was completed by Behruz Afkhami. The film was about Mohammadreza Takhti, legend of Iranian wrestling.
“Transforming ideas into the form of a film is a difficult and important process at which Ali Hatami was most proficient,” said Khosro Dehqan, a film critic attending the review session of “Sattar Khan”.
Mohammad-Hossein Rajabi, an expert on Iranian history who attended the session described the film as being the most powerful movie of Iranian cinema on the subject of the Constitutional Movement.
“The personality of Sattar Khan as featured in the film is entirely plausible. However, it is impossible to show a complete picture of the Constitutional Movement 100 years on,” he added.
MMS/MA
END
MNA
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