TEHRAN – The Cinematheque of the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) is scheduled to screen a restored version of celebrated Iranian director and playwright Bahram Beizai’s 1974 movie “The Stranger and the Fog” on Monday evening. 

The screening will be followed by a review session by Iranian critic Shahram Ashraf Abyaneh.

"The Stranger and The Fog" is a poetic and allegorical film that explores themes of identity, alienation, and the human condition through the story of a mysterious outsider. The film begins in a remote coastal village where the inhabitants spot a boat approaching the shore. They pull the boat onto land and find inside a tired, wounded stranger named Ayat (Khosro Shojazadeh), who has no memory of what happened to him. All he recalls is that some people attacked him, and he managed to escape. As Ayat stays in the village, he struggles to understand his own identity and origin, haunted by fears that his enemies might still be after him.

Rana (Parvaneh Masoumi), a woman whose fisherman husband was lost at sea, becomes curious about Ayat. She notices a bloody sickle he found in his boat, which bears a strange mark, leading to suspicion among the villagers. They decide to put Ayat on trial, and he buries the sickle. As trust builds, the villagers force Ayat to marry one of the village girls, choosing Rana. Their union sparks conflict, yet Rana refuses to remain alone forever.

Rana’s curiosity about Ayat intensifies, causing tension with her family, especially her brother, who guards the house to capture Ayat. However, Ayat, having entered their home, secretly marries Rana after leaving a book behind. When he leaves her house in the morning, the villagers consider killing him but instead arrange for a wedding, unaware of the dark events looming.

Meanwhile, a wolf attacks the village, and two strangers arrive at night, seeking Ayat. He fights one of them after they attempt to abduct Rana, killing him. The corpse is carried by the river to the sea, then washed ashore. The villagers interpret the return of the body as a sign of a doomed marriage disconnected from nature. Ayat later learns that one of the strangers was Rana’s missing husband, a revelation that plunges the village into mourning. Rana secretly buries Ayat’s boat in the sand, still anxious about pursuers.

Ayat becomes increasingly restless, worried about those hunting him, and befriends a crippled boy, planning to build him a home. One day, a tall man dressed in black arrives by boat, wandering through the village before leaving with a sickle, raising Ayat’s fears. The villagers dismiss him as a mere customer, but Ayat and Rana remain uneasy. The next day, five men in black arrive to hunt Ayat, leading to a fierce confrontation. Ayat kills all five men before boarding his boat, determined to see what lies beyond the water, while Rana prepares herself for the uncertain future.

SAB/