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Politically Iran may be a hot potato but in terms of films they have one of the most active and acclaimed industries out there. In recent decades the new Iranian film has become the staple component of film festivals around the globe. The fact that they seldom cross over into the mainstream consciousness is probably due to political tensions which is sad as we in the West could learn many lessons from them. Both examples taken here are modern day classics with the Palm D’Or winning Taste of Cherry alongside 2002’s Offside that took a Silver Bear award in Berlin.
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Set on a single day in the outskirts of Tehran, Abbas Kiarostami’s extremely profound tale is a film which is made with almost total simplicity. Like Kiarostami’s later work Ten it is entirely based upon conversations, as Mr Baidi drives around Tehran looking for aid in his suicide attempt, meeting many vastly different responses along the way. It is from this simple and highly unconventional plot that we see a beautiful attempt to explore the harsh realities of death.
The best thing about Taste of Cherry is the series of phenomenal reactions to Mr Baidi’s request which range from blind panic to a wonderful attempt to persuade him by claiming he once contemplated suicide but changed his mind when eating mullberries. All of this is shot lovingly alongside the natural terrain which fantastically juxtaposes the conversations of the characters inside Baidi’s car with the vast panorama around them. Yet, despite this the film moves very slowly and I was never fully gripped by its contemplation of life and death, particularly since although this is deeply profound and full of meaning, it’s impossible to watch without realising you’ve seen it done better before.
Revolving around a man’s attempt at suicide Taste of Cherry ran the risk of being incredibly depressing and it is testament to Kiarostami’s skill that it’s not. However, although incredibly well made it fails to come close to the brilliance of other contemplations of death, notably the work of Ingmar Bergman, meaning that overall this is a good film rather than a great film.
Director: Jafar Panahi
A little bit of background is really required here. In the state of Iran women are not allowed to watch football games in stadiums for the reasons that it may encourage violence or the use of vulgar language to be used in their direction. Anyway, the synopsis of this film is that on the day of a decisive World Cup qualifying match a group of girls have attempted to go to watch the football and are caught and detained for the duration.
The premise is simple but what unfolds is an incredibly well-written and noticed tale of Iran as a whole with this microcosm acting as a mirror to the world about women’s rights in this much misunderstood nation. It became such a social commentary that screenings for Offside were in fact banned (much like the rest of Jafar Panahi’s work). The real beauty of it lies in the improvised manner of a lot of the dialogue, set pieces and even the costuming (with the girls all asked to come up with their own attempts at disguise) yet all are cohesively blended together much to the credit of the director.
There are many films that have attempted to labour a sharp political commentary but with Offside it is all marked in subtlety and at no point does it feel forced. As such the film becomes all the more poignant.
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