Iran says Oscar-winning Argo "not valuable artistically": minister

The Oscar-winning "anti-Iran" Argo is not "artistically valuable," local media reported Tuesday, quoting Iranian Minister of Culture and the Islamic Guidance, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini.

"This film is against Iran and artistically invalid," Hosseini was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Argo got the Oscar honor because of "large-scale propagation campaign" and "massive investment," the Iranian minister said, adding that the Hollywood did this to globally attract the attention of the people.

Argo is a 2012 American film in which six of U.S. diplomats are represented escaping from Iran following the 1979 U.S. embassy seizure in Tehran by supporters of the Islamic establishment. In the incident which was followed by a hostage-taking crisis and disruption of the Iran-U.S. diplomatic ties, 52 American diplomats and embassy staff were held hostage for 444 days in Iran.

The movie has won several international awards, including the Oscar on Monday. The U.S. first lady Michelle Obama announced the Best Picture Oscar for Argo by video appearance from the White House.

On Tuesday, most of Iranian daily newspapers allocated a column to Argo as the Oscar-winning film and almost unanimously undermined its artistic mastery and drew on its political motivation.

The conservative Kayhan newspaper said Tuesday that by selecting Argo as the best film, the Oscar institution proved that it is "at the service of the arrogant rulers" in the world.

Also, the reformist Etemad newspaper drew upon the process of awarding the films in the Oscar event in 2013 and wrote that "Argo the Winner of a Dull Game."

Most of the Western films are neither screened in Iranian theaters nor can be reached via electronic social network, but bootleg DVDs of those films are available in the illegal market soon after they are posted on the web which can be bypassed by VPN software.

As a means to protect the Iranian cultural heritage, the Islamic republic has long been fighting against the West‘s influence which it has termed as "the cultural invasion" or "soft cultural war" against the national and Islamic values.

On June 6, 2102, Hosseini underlined the necessity of cooperation among the regional countries to stand against the Western "cultural invasion and domination," according to semi- official Fars news agency.

"The Americans seek to continue their political hegemony by means of cultural and art productions," Hosseini said during a meeting with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the 9th Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing.

相关新闻：伊朗文化和伊斯兰指导部长穆罕默德·侯赛尼２６日抨击了刚刚获选今年奥斯卡奖最佳影片的《逃离德黑兰》，称其“反伊朗”且“无艺术价值”。

据伊朗伊斯兰共和国通讯社２６日报道，侯赛尼说，《逃离德黑兰》之所以获奖，是因为美国好莱坞对该片的“巨额投入”及“大规模宣传”。但该片歪曲历史，伊朗有责任拍摄相关题材的影片，向全世界揭露历史真相。

伊朗电影导演纳德尔·塔利布扎德表示，《逃离德黑兰》完全是一部“政治影片”，其获奖完全是因为“政治原因”，从艺术和技术角度讲，该片不过是一部普通的美国动作片。

伊朗影评家佩曼·卡西姆哈尼评论说，如果抛开政治因素，该片剧情一般，无吸引人之处。

伊朗媒体２６日纷纷发表文章，批评影片《逃离德黑兰》不具艺术性，获奖含有“政治动机”。

在２４日举行的第８５届奥斯卡奖颁奖典礼上，由好莱坞导演本·阿弗莱克执导并主演的政治惊悚片《逃离德黑兰》击败其他８部提名影片，获得最佳影片大奖，并捧得最佳剪辑和最佳改编剧本奖。

该片根据发生在１９７９年的伊朗人质事件改编，讲述了由阿弗莱克饰演的中情局特工托尼·门德斯在伊朗伊斯兰革命爆发、美国大使馆被占的情况下，成功将困于加拿大使馆内的６名美国外交官带离德黑兰的故事。