This is a very small Iranian film, shot without permits and what must have been a minuscule budget, but it goes to show just how much you can achieve with so little. Walking into “1001 Frames”, I had a pretty good idea as to what I would be seeing and how it would be portrayed. I knew that the film was about an audition process so expected quite a low-fi approach to the visuals, which is exactly what I got. Each girl is filmed on digital video, with the camera regularly moving as the unseen director sees fit, while instructing each actress through the process. It doesn't equate to the most visually appealing film, but it does give “1001 Frames” a sense of realism and a near documentary feel to the whole thing.
Apparently this is an extension of director Mehrnoush Alia’s original short film “Scheherazade”, which I have not seen, but I am often very wary when directors attempt to turn one of their successful short films into a feature, as you usually find that the initial idea that worked so well as a short, and what made it so special, is often spread too thin in the feature version and thus it loses all of it's power. I can definitely say that is not the case here, as I found “1001 Frames” to be a very powerful film indeed, and one that continues to get more and more creepy as it goes along. As the title might suggest, “1001 Frames” sees young girls auditioning for the role of Scheherazade in a new adaptation of “One Thousand and One Nights”. In the original story, Scheherazade is known to save herself from being beheaded by her tyrannical king (and husband) by distracting him by telling him one thousand interconnected stories that take one thousand and one nights to recount. The parallel to that story to the one being told in “1001 Frames” is obvious, as the girls talk about themselves and their love for the role they hope to play, in an attempt to entertain a famous director who, unbeknown to the girls, has more than a movie on his mind.
“1001 Frames” is an intense look at the power dynamics and structure that actresses (and actors) are put under when auditioning for a movie. One interesting part of the film is that one of the women auditioning is the ex-wife of the director who “coincidentally” hasn't been able to find work in the industry since their divorce (even though she used to be a big star). The director claims he has nothing to do with this, why would he get her to audition for this movie if he had, but she is sure this is a power move to humiliate her on camera, and remind her yet again who is boss. This is the first hint we get that our unseen director may be more vindictive than he initially presents himself.
Whilst I was expecting to enjoy “1001 Frames”, I must admit that I was taken aback by just how successful and tense the film was in terms of being a thriller. Whilst the director's questions and requests all seem above board for someone casting a film at the beginning, as the questions start becoming more personal and the director's intentions more obviously insidious, you cannot help but feel a fear for these girls in the pit of your stomach. I found this amazing that director Mehrnoush Alia was able to achieve this just through dialogue and the actresses performances. She isn't helped by dynamic camera moves or scary music or sound effects to create an atmosphere, it is all done via the situation Alia has set up and how truthful her actresses have made it all feel. Once we then learn that the studio doors are locked and the girls are trapped, alone, with the director, you feel so ill for what is about to happen and cannot be stopped.
I want to mention just how great the ending of “1001 Frames” is and how cathartic to the experience it turns out to be. I do not want to reveal the end because, as I just mentioned, it is pretty great and deserves to be experienced unspoiled, so I'll just say, keep repeating to yourself “It is only a movie.....only a movie.....only a movie...”
There really isn't too much else to say about “1001 Frames”, although I should mention how well it has been edited, which helps enormously in the building of tension. Mehrnoush Alia edited the film herself, as we constantly change between each audition participant, although each girl is in the same part of the audition process when we move on to the next girl. So while the film does flow in a linear fashion, we are constantly cycling through a number of girls. As such we follow around six or seven girls hoping to succeed in getting the role of their dreams, and then fear for them all as we reach the end of the film. It is when the film gets near the end that it suddenly hits us that these auditions are taking place on different days, and we start to wonder if he has been successful in abusing the girls previous. It is quite a shocking revelation, that sends a chill straight down your spine.
Finally, I must mention how great Mohammad Aghebati is as our unseen director / tormentor. He is only a voice in the film, but he has so much presence within each scene. The way he manipulates the girls via the way he asks a certain question or re-phrases a request is impressive, if sickening, but the truly scary thing is how his voice changes when he is turned down or rejected and how quickly he can turn nasty and threatening when he doesn't get his own way. He is truly terrifying and yet we never lay eyes on him.
Overall, I thought “1001 Frames” was a very effective cinematic experiment. From a visual standpoint, there is nothing really to see (outside of a sense of realism), its not that kind of film, this is one for the actors and they all do a phenomenal job creating an unnerving situation that gets darker as each minute passes. It is a tiny film, but very successful in what it sets out to do. Once again, another Iranian film has impressed me.
3.5 Stars.
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