The Last Fiction (SLIFF 2018) - B

​Quick Hit: The first animated Iranian film is worth your time. 

​I recently started covering more Anime films as part of a request from my friend Enoch. I’ve slacked recently, but I’ve slacked on most films recently just due to commitments in real life outside of film criticism. So, when I was building up my naturally over-ambitious schedule for SLIFF, I was delighted to see that it featured this Iranian film based on classic Persian literature. I found out during research that The Last Fiction is the first animated movie to be made entirely in Iran, which is awesome that in came all the way here to SLIFF. 

The Last Fiction follows the story of the city of Jamkard and the subsequent rulers. It’s got a pretty cut and dry story for the most part – bad guy and good guy and all that. I actually really enjoyed the animation style, despite the fact it’s a bit behind some of the current methods of animation. It frequently features characters moving against a still background, and it really grounds the picture. This is helpful, because it often features monsters, sword battles, and magic.
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The film is really fun, despite its slightly predictive plot. There’s something to be said about diving into a plot that is simply good versus bad. There is an almost Tolkien-vibe to the plot, which is probably ironic since the story was around much before Tolkien. I think that is the bit about this movie that I liked the most – hearing a story that is familiar and yet different at the same time. I’ve never heard of the story of the city of Jamkard before, so it was a nice exposure to something different. 

Overall, the movie, though not perfect, is good enough to visit. I’m going to give it a “B”.   

For more on this film, check out IMDB.