Phenomenological Study of “House” in Cinema; Case Study: The Movie Chess of the Wind

Cinema and architecture are both art forms in which space is a significant component, and both express their temporality through space. In cinema, space can serve as the main character. This research aims to study the phenomenological meaning of “house” from a cinematic perspective. The unforgettable houses in cinematic experience are imaginative buildings that can transfer the con-sensory experience to the audience. This study takes a qualitative approach and uses the descriptive-analytical and phenomenological methods. The research data collection tools are; documentary studies and personal interview with the film's director. What makes the main pillar of this article is the concept and the manner of residing in the house as the first spatial experience. Cinematic space can be viewed as a space through which the existential nature of the house can be reliably perceived by human senses of sight, hearing, and touch. While analyzing the meaning and concept of the house in the cinematic architecture of the Chess of the Wind (Mohammadreza Aslani), which was based on the theories of Christian Norberg Schultz and Juhani Pallasmaa, the dramatic meaning of physical and non-physical elements of space is investigated. The location of this film possesses an exclusive position and shows the manner and the moods of characters of the film. Due to previous knowledge of the director and scene decorator of the location, the house has gained an element of identity and individuality in the film. This movie is written based on place. Analyzing the architecture and spatiality from a phenomenological perspective allows the audience to come to a robust conclusion; namely if the filmmaker personally conceived the nature of residential phenomena, his films are the products of his experiences and the audience could conceive, decode and experience these points in his own turn. The experiences of the director possess a determinant role in affecting the meaning of the place. When the director has written the script based on familiar locations, he can define and coordinate the characters in his preferred spaces. In this movie, the house for the sake of its residents has lost its real meaning and has turned to a precious consignment for attaining a position of power. The characters are introduced according to the territories they occupy and the share of natural light they receive. Thereby, each character understands space in a different way. None of the characters is regarded as the main character, and the central character, the house, becomes the residents' plaything. This is the house that quarrels with the characters and evicts them because of their lack of harmonious relationship. The house becomes an active place during the narrative, an outstanding Qajar house whose perspective at the end of the film is designed in order to make a viewer want to live in it. The house's residents have ceased living in the house and have also ceased living in order to own it.