Iranian cinema has long been one to watch for world cinema fans, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf is one of its shining lights, having been lauded by critics and many international film festivals. Here, Arrow Academy presents his Poetic Trilogy - a collection of three of the writer-director’s most lyrical, imaginative works: Gabbeh, The Silence and The Gardener. With gorgeous 2K restorations of Gabbeh and The Silence, and a wealth of insightful special features, this is a must for cinephiles.

Director
Mohsen Makhmalbaf (The Gardener, The Silence, Gabbeh)

Cast
Shaghyeh Djodat
Tahmineh Normatova
Ririva Eona Mabi

One of the preeminent figures of Iranian cinema, Mohsen Makhmalbaf has written and directed an impressive array of acclaimed films, winning accolades at international film festivals and the admiration of world cinema audiences. This collection presents three of Makhmalbaf’s most lyrical films which the director has termed his Poetic Trilogy.

Gabbeh tells of an elderly couple who stop by a stream to wash a vividly woven traditional Persian rug (‘Gabbeh’). A beautiful woman, depicted in in the rug’s elaborate design, suddenly appears and tells a heart-rending story of love and loss. A film imbued with the ideas of Sufism, The Silence tells of Khorshid, a young blind boy from Tajikistan who earns rent money for his family by tuning rare instruments but becomes enraptured by the sonorous music he hears on his way to work each day. The Gardener is an imaginative documentary which follows Makhmalbaf, and his son Maysam, to Israel to investigate the Bahá'í Faith, a religion with 7 million followers, which originated in Iran 170 years ago.

As well as presenting a wealth of extras, this collection boasts stunning new restorations of Gabbeh and The Silence which truly bring the films’ rich colours and imagery to life.

Arrow Academy collections are always beautifully curated and Mohsen Makhmalbaf: The Poetic Trilogy is no different. The three films sit wonderfully together, complementing each other perfectly and showing off the best of Makhmalbaf’s work.

The brand new restorations of Gabbeh and The Silence and the high definition presentation of all three films really bring the films to life. The director’s use of colours and lyrical imagery is second to none and his masterful work can be witnessed here in all its glory.

The special features, meanwhile, give fascinating insight into Makhmalbaf and his films. Poetry in Motion is a brand new conversation between the director and film critic Jonathan Romney which goes into great detail and is newly produced for this release. Mohsen with Closed Eyes on the other hand is an archival interview discussing The Silence and allows the audience to hear Makhmalbaf’s thoughts at the time of the film’s release. First pressings of the collection will also come with an illustrated booklet featuring new writing by Makhmalbaf himself and film critic Negar Mottahedeh.

Whether you’re a fan of Makhmalbaf, Iranian cinema or world cinema in general, The Poetic Trilogy really is one to add to your Arrow Academy collection.

- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated booklet featuring new writing by film academic Negar Mottahedeh and Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
- Brand new 2K restorations of The Silence and Gabbeh from the original camera negatives.
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all three films.
- Original Persian soundtracks with uncompressed LPCM audio.
- Newly translated English subtitles.
- Audio commentary on Gabbeh by critic Godfrey Cheshire.
- Poetry in Motion: An Interview with Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an in-depth conversation between the Iranian auteur and film critic Jonathan Romney, newly produced for this edition.
- Mohsen with Closed Eyes: An imaginatively filmed archival interview with Makhmalbaf on The Silence.
- Original trailers.
- Stills and collections gallery.
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow.

Genre: Drama
Language: Persian
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 / 1.78:1
Audio: 1.0 mono / 2.0 stereo
Colour
BD Discs: 2