Iranian melodramatic cinema, particularly during the 1980s (the 1360s in the Iranian calendar) , has functioned as one of the most important media for representing emotional experiences, familial relationships, and the everyday lifeworld. As a genre fundamentally concerned with domesticity, separation, loss, and return, Iranian melodrama relied heavily on familiar architectural spaces — the house, the courtyard, the room, and the passageway — which are themselves carriers of memory, identity, and meaning. However, a significant portion of the scholarly work conducted on these films has concentrated predominantly on narrative analysis, thematic interpretation, and character development, while the role of spatial organization and the sensory qualities of place within cinematic scenes have rarely been examined in a systematic and theoretically grounded manner. This gap is particularly striking given the inherently spatial nature of cinema and the deep conceptual affinity between architecture and film as arts of space and experience. The present study aims to address this gap by adopting an interdisciplinary approach grounded in architectural theory, environmental psychology, and film studies, to provide an architecture-centered reading of the components of sense of place within Iranian melodramatic cinema. The theoretical foundation of this research draws primarily upon the phenomenological tradition in architecture, particularly the works of Christian Norberg-Schulz, who developed the concept of "Genius Loci" or the spirit of place, and later scholars who elaborated the notion of "sense of place" as a multi-dimensional construct. According to this body of theory, sense of place emerges from the dynamic interaction among three essential components: physical form (fabric), which refers to the tangible and material characteristics of the built environment including spatial configuration, architectural elements, lighting, texture, and materiality; meaning, which encompasses the symbolic, cultural, and emotional associations attached to a place, including memories, collective narratives, and social values; and activity, which includes the patterns of human behavior, rituals, routines, and bodily movements that take place within and give life to a specific spatial setting. These three components do not operate in isolation but continuously interact within the temporal flow of human experience, producing a holistic sense of place that can be felt, remembered, and interpreted by inhabitants and viewers alike. While this conceptual model has been widely used in architectural and urban studies, its application to cinematic analysis — especially within the context of Iranian melodrama — has remained largely unexplored. In order to operationalize this theoretical model within the specific conditions of film analysis, the present study introduces three principles of sensory-spatial scene orientation: layout, positioning, and topological relations. These principles are derived from the intersection of architectural space syntax theory and film mise-en-scène analysis. The principle of layout refers to the overall spatial configuration of a scene, including the arrangement of built elements, the relationship between interior and exterior spaces, the distribution of openings and boundaries, and the pathways available for movement. The principle of positioning concerns the placement of characters and objects within the frame relative to the architectural setting, addressing how distance, proximity, hierarchy, and focal points within the space create perceptual and emotional effects . The principle of topological relations deals with the qualitative relationships between spaces — such as connectedness, separation, centrality, and marginality — that govern how movement, vision, and narrative transitions are organized across the film's spatial continuum . Together, these three principles provide a systematic analytical toolkit for examining how cinematic space is not merely a container for action but an active participant in the production of meaning and feeling . The research methodology employed in this study is qualitative and based on case study analysis . A preliminary survey was conducted of major Iranian melodramatic films produced during the 1980s, including works by directors such as Ali Hatami, Bahram Beizai, and others. From this initial corpus, the film "Mother" (Mâdar), directed by Ali Hatami and released in 1989, was selected for detailed analysis based on a set of explicit spatial, physical, and narrative criteria, using cluster sampling methodology . The selection criteria included: the richness and complexity of architectural space design; the centrality of domestic interior spaces to the narrative progression; the sustained presence of characters within bounded spatial settings; and the film's recognized status as a landmark work within the Iranian melodramatic tradition. The analysis was conducted on carefully selected sequences from the film, focusing on key narrative turning points and significant spatial transitions. Each sequence was examined in terms of the three sense of place components and the three orientation principles, with particular attention to how these elements interact to shape the viewer's perceptual and emotional experience. The findings of the analysis reveal that space in "Mother" functions far beyond a neutral backdrop or a decorative setting for the narrative. Rather, through the dynamic interplay of fabric, meaning, and activity — mediated by the principles of layout, positioning, and topological relations — space becomes an active and generative agent in the organization of narrative, the guidance of audience perception, and the intensification of the melodramatic experience. Specifically, the analysis demonstrates that qualitative shifts in the narrative — from moments of expectation and waiting to those of crisis and reunion — are consistently accompanied by significant spatial reorganizations. The characters' patterns of pause and movement within architectural spaces, such as standing in doorways, sitting by windows, moving through hallways, or gathering in courtyards, are not arbitrary choices but reflect underlying spatial-perceptual logics that contribute to the accumulation of emotional intensity. The house itself emerges as the spatial and emotional center of the film, embodying a strong sense of belonging, interiority, and nostalgia. Its architectural features — the central courtyard, the interconnected rooms, the thresholds and passageways — function as narrative devices that regulate visibility, distance, and intimacy among characters . The topological centrality of the home within the film's spatial system establishes it as an anchor of identity and memory, around which all narrative events revolve. In conclusion, the present study offers an architecture-centered analytical framework for the systematic reading of melodramatic cinema from the perspective of sense of place. This framework integrates conceptual tools from architectural theory with analytical principles derived from film studies, making it possible to examine how cinematic spaces contribute to the production of emotional meaning and viewer engagement in a rigorous and replicable manner . The framework is not limited to the analysis of "Mother" alone but is designed to be transferable and adaptable to other works within the same genre, as well as to other film genres in which spatial experience plays a central role. By bridging the disciplinary gap between architecture and film studies, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the spatial dimensions of cinematic experience and opens new avenues for interdisciplinary inquiry. Ultimately, the study underscores the argument that architecture in cinema is not merely a background element but a fundamental component of the film's narrative and emotional architecture, one that deserves careful and systematic scholarly attention. Future research can build upon this framework by expanding the corpus of films analyzed, incorporating quantitative methods such as space syntax analysis, and exploring the application of the model to contemporary Iranian cinema and other national cinematic traditions .

Keywords: Sense of Place, Spatial Orientation, Iranian Melodrama Cinema, Scene Analysis, Mise-en-Scène, Mother Film, Ali Hatami