Mohammad Reza Aslani

The Chess Game of the Wind

Mohammad Reza Aslani’s 1976 Persian-language drama unfolds over nine days in a Qajar-era Tehran mansion following the death of its matriarch. Paralysed heiress Aghdas, her stepfather Hadji Amoo, and the household staff circle one another in a tightening web of inheritance, deception, and suppressed desire. Shot by Houshang Baharlou in deep chiaroscuro and edited with precise, rhythmic restraint, the film uses architecture, light, and silence as primary narrative tools. Rediscovered in 2014 and restored for a 2020 re-release, it stands as a singular achievement of Iranian arthouse cinema—dense, deliberate, and unflinchingly austere.