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Sadly Over-hyped

Pretty Good

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The acting in this movie is really good.

This Iranian/Persian film used to feature in one of the versions of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I have always said I will try any and all film that have been and will be in it, directed by Abbas Kiarostami (Close-Up, Taste of Cherry). Basically in the hills of Kurdistan, an unnamed city Engineer (Behzad Dorani) and his two two (unseen) assistants are searching for a small village in the mountains. They arrive and are greeted by a young boy who shows them a place for them to stay and guides the engineer to the home of an (unseen) elderly dying woman. It is unclear to the people why the engineer and his men are there, some locals think he he wants to the purchase the land when the old woman dies, others think he could be an archaeologist searching for rare artefacts. Meanwhile the engineer spends time exploring the village and encountering the people who live there, most are women, the men are at jobs that occupy them day and night for several months of the year. The engineer also stays in touch with the boy, who keeps an eye on the old woman's health, while also doing his schoolwork, working on his family's farm, and doing household chores for his mother. The engineer gets a few calls on his cellular phone, he is required to drive to a graveyard to receive the calls, most however are wrong numbers, while doing so he encounters an (unseen) gravedigger and a girl who milks cows kept in a basement. Over time the engineer has done everything he can to fit into the community, while sticking around for his supposed relative, and his attitudes to things change by the time he is ready to leave. There is only one character to truly focus on throughout the whole film, leaving the viewer to speculate about withheld information, it a static, emotionally detached and subtle celebration of the dignity of labour, I am honest in saying I could not follow any real story, I just liked the leading character and the vibrant backgrounds, overall an interesting enough drama. Good!

I am mostly writing this in response to the "still wondering" post. I hope this helps. I don't really know if it counts as a spoiler, but I checked the box for spoiler anyway so that I don't get blacklisted.Anyway, the story is basically about a photographer who has come to a small village in the Kurdistani region of Iran to get photographs of a ceremony that occurs only after a person has died. This ceremony is mentioned and briefly described when one character talks about how his mother has two lines on her face from previous ceremonies. It is a sign of respect to the dead to demonstrate your bereavement by scarring your own skin.The photographer, Behzad, has come to this particular village because there is a sick old woman living there who he thinks will die soon, thus setting the ceremony he wants to photograph in progress. Only problem is, she takes a lot longer to die than he is expecting. Almost every day, it seems, Behzad gets a phone call from his boss, who does not seem happy about how long his project is taking. His crew of three men also are irritated by the length of time they have had to spend in the village.While Behzad himself seems more laid back about having to spend his time in the village, even mingling with the villagers somewhat, he still does not seem to respect their way of life much. Every time he has a phone call, he drives his car over a cemetery to get to high ground where he has better reception. Then, of course, there is the moral dilemma of if it should even be acceptable for him to come in to the village and photograph such a personal ceremony at all.I am still confused about what the ending means, so maybe someone else can explain that farther on here someday.I do have to agree, however, with the other confused viewer (of the "still wondering" post) about the cinematography. It is really a beautiful film.

What is most striking about this movie is the ethereal photography that effortlessly that transports the viewer into a harshly beautiful locale, affording a fascinating glimpse into the lives of folks in a village in a timeless and desolate corner of Iran. That is the positive.The negative is overwhelmingly the irritating and emotionless main character. Less of an annoyance, but nevertheless a negative, is the lack of any consistent symbolism, meaningful psychological representation or even a satisfying denouement.The leading character did not appear to be optimally cast. His character portrayal was completely underwhelming, and I found myself becoming increasingly weary of hearing his whiny voice go and on.That's another thing about this movie (and "Ten", also by the same director) - endless prattle. The opening shots of this movie are simply spectacular - very unique scenery that I was content to watch unfold, never mind the story. But then the "Engineer" and his pal start their yak and it kills the mood. They just talk for the sake of talking - no direction, no pauses, no point, just one over the other. I think this and other subsequent portions of this movie would have been more effective and dramatic by the use of silence. The entire movie lends itself very strongly and naturally to silence, rather than incessant, pointless and distracting conversation.The kid in the movie is good, but once again - the lines he is forced to deliver are sometimes so unnatural and garish as to make the viewer wince. No kid that age would speak like that! (Same comment for "Ten").All in all - a mixed bag. Nothing very symbolic or enigmatic here that is worth the watching. But if you watch it with lowered expectations, you will vastly enjoy a glimpse into an another world - an insulated world of community, rustic reality, open spaces and open hearts. And that is definitely worth something.

Have very much enjoyed Iranian films but was lost with this one. Starts out with a long ambling conversation from within a jeep but no faces. Some persons are traveling somewhere for a dark reason that was never revealed that I could tell. The setting was outstanding and the cinematography very good. The main protagonist was neither fish nor fowl but rather aggravating. One little boy was very cute. One woman was memorable. One dramatic event seemed unrelated to the story which seemed to end when the camera ran out of film. I may try it again sometime. At least it is not the dreary stuff from the movie factory with cardboard cutouts for characters. I came to IMDb tonight to see what it was all about, but still don't know.