Director: Masoud Kimiaii

Cast: Mohamadali Fardin, Faramarz Gharibyian, Pory Badaie, Amrollah Saberi, Parvin Soleymani

Ghazal is a 1976 Iranian drama film directed by Masoud Kimiaii, set against the backdrop of the forests of Iran. The film follows two brothers whose bond is tested when desire, loyalty, and the land they protect collide in a story that feels timeless and deeply rooted in Iranian rural life.

What is Ghazal about?

Hojjat and Zein-Ala'bedin are forest rangers who have spent their lives side by side, watching over the wilderness with quiet pride. Their world shifts when a woman enters their lives and awakens feelings neither brother expected. What begins as shared admiration gradually becomes a source of tension, as the closeness that once defined them starts to fracture. The film builds its drama slowly, drawing on the silence of the forest and the unspoken weight between brothers who would rather lose themselves than betray each other. No resolution comes easy in this landscape.

Cast & crew

Director Masoud Kimiaii was among the most respected voices of pre-revolution Iranian cinema, known for bringing raw emotional weight to stories of working-class men. Mohamadali Fardin leads the cast, joined by Faramarz Gharibyian, Pory Badaie, Amrollah Saberi, Parvin Soleymani, Shahnaz, and Nosrat Karimi — a gathering of recognizable faces from the golden era of Iranian film.

Context & significance

Released in 1976, Ghazal belongs to the vibrant final years of pre-revolution Iranian cinema, a period when filmmakers like Kimiaii were refining a distinctly Persian dramatic voice — gritty, emotionally charged, and grounded in everyday struggles rather than escapism. For the diaspora, this film is a direct window into the Iran of that era: the rural landscapes, the codes of brotherhood, the quiet masculinity. Watching it abroad carries a particular ache, a recognition of a world that exists now mostly in memory and in films like this one.

Where & how to watch

Ghazal is available to watch on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, cancel anytime.