‘Maryam’ director doesn’t know much about Iran: Historian

In an exclusive report, Iranian historian has discussed the mistakes depicted in ‘Maryam’ (2002).
In a series of programs titled ‘Cinema VS History’, aired on ifilm, veteran Iranian historian Khosrow Motazed sheds light on the reality behind anti-Iran films produced by Hollywood.

He says the mistakes in ‘Maryam’ are the result of the director’s lack of knowledge about Iran's history, culture, and language.

According to Motazed, since the director of the movie is not familiar with the Persian language, culture, and history, the movie depicts the wrong picture of Iran and its history.

‘Maryam’ director wants to show Iranians as a biased nation behaving under so-called religious fanaticism.

One of the weak points of the film is the director’s lack of information about the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the fact that Shah fled the country facing mass demonstrations by Iranian people.

The movie does not say anything about the view that the Americans had about Iranians before the 1979 Revolution. They looked at Iranians as people with primitive manners.

The flick does not say anything about the bill that the parliament passed about capitulation providing diplomatic immunity for American military personnel living in Iran.

The director does not have a syllable of information about the roots of the revolution in Iran.

A short synopsis of the flick reads, “Cultures clash. Hearts break. People change.”

‘Maryam’ is about an Iranian-born teenager living in suburban New Jersey. She thinks of herself as simply an American until anti-Iranian sentiment erupts in her community after American hostages are held in Iran.

MG/AG