Abbas Kiarostami, 1997.This film is proof that you do not need a lot of money to make an amazing film, and should be an inspiration to independent film makers around the world. The film is about a middle aged man driving around Tehran looking for someone to help him commit suicide. In reality he is looking for a reason to continue living. While the above synopsis sounds depressing the film is actually very interesting and insightful. Abbas Kiarostami is extremely talented and the film has a unique rustic homemade quality. The beauty of the film and his films in general, is their simplicity. He uses uncomplicated characters facing typical problems that everyone can relate to. For example, Ten (7.1/10) illustrates gender inequality shown through the eyes of a female taxi driver in Tehran. In Close-Up (6.8/10) class struggle is demonstrated through an unemployed man pretending to be a famous Iranian film director.
1 comment:
I saw "Ten" a few years back and it still lingers with me to this very day. The directors casual style led the viewer to not be taken on rides of bias or politics, yet to be familiarized with Iranian culture through the breaths of one woman. The director gives us a mere slice of the dynamics of a random set of characters, and it is through them that we penetrate into their psyches, their unique experiences, to only then realize that they are frightfully similar to our own. He gives us something small to see something big.
Beautifully executed.
-Deeks
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