Visual cinematic feast makes ‘The Wasteman’ a contender for Golden Goblet glory

By Alex Miao

Veteran Iranian director Ahmad Bahramalaei introduced his Golden Goblet nominated film “The Wasteman” at a press conference at the ongoing 26th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 20.

A contender in the Main Competition, it is an elaborate visual feast and the concluding chapter of his "Waste" trilogy.

Without a single line of dialogue, the film was shot in monochrome in the narrower 4:3 ratio, a nearly square shape that offers a greater sense of visual intimacy and focus compared to contemporary film formats.

Bahramalaei sets out to break the mould of conventional directing in this work, presenting the purely visual sensation of watching an actor’s performance.

For example, in the scene of a strange and silent village, deprived of all symbols of life, a determined, middle-aged carriage driver drags a lifeless body slowly towards the cemetery.

"The 4:3 frame was chosen so that the audience could see more and could follow the movements of the actor at all times," director Ahmad Bahramalaei said in praise of his lead actor Ali Bagheri.

Bagheri was not daunted by the lack of dialogue in the film, seeing it as “a challenge and an opportunity” that allowed him “maximum space to perform.”

"Dialogue is one aspect of how an actor presents a film and acting is another. Both are ways of presenting a film," he added. Both the director and cinematographer praised his performance.

The movie’s unusual style and format put strong demands on cinematographer Ahoora Bahramalaei who used a lot of long and moving shots as well as less stabilized shots.

"The film’s visual effects were all designed by the director,” he said. Art director Nahid Sedigh was strong in her praise of the movie’s design qualities.