822. Nema-ye Nazdik/Close-Up (1990)

Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami
Main Cast: Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami, Abolfazi Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah

DOCU-FICTION

Just a heads up, expect me to start jumping around a little more sporadically through the 80s and the rest of the year 1990. If I get a chance later today, I may swing in and present a FINAL 25 list, just so you guys know what to expect in the coming weeks, leading to the creation of the 8th TOP 20 list. If I don't get the time to do that today, however, we'll just do the standard FINAL 15, when the time comes. Anyway..."Close-Up"...

Wow, this was definitely a unique film. I can't say it totally blew me away, but I definitely liked it a lot and it's unlike anything I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest tracking it down, which won't be difficult, since it's been released via the good folks at Criterion. The film is a documentary, however it also features some scenes which are reenactments of the documentary subject; which is a man named Sabzian passing himself off as the film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, in order to gain entry into a family's home and take advantage of them. Everyone involved plays themselves and participates in acting a few scenes, which are reenactments of what transpired. Even Abbas Kiarostami appears as a voice behind the camera, even allowed to ask questions at Sabzian's trial, of which we see extensive footage from.

It really is a hard film to sum up, as it's one of those few films that I feel like you should just see, as opposed to reading my inferior words about it. However, I'll try my best to give my feelings about the film, although a short, blundering review is probably what will result...

They hook you early with a scene in which four men ride in a cab to the house where Sabzian has committed his crime - a journalist, two police officers and a cab driver - with the purpose of arresting him. The journalist thinking that this will be his big story, goes in first. We don't see anything that takes place inside the house (yet) and instead, are forced to wait outside with the cigarette smoking cabbie. Then the credits roll and after that, we're behind the camera with Kiarostami. I knew right away that it was something special. That here was a guy - Kiarostami - who had an idea and totally saw it through, in a way that no other filmmaker probably could have. What is it about Kiarostami's films that always leave me with an odd feeling of not being able to decide exactly how I feel. I always walk out of them with the feeling that I just saw something cinematically amazing, yet also underwhelmed. I can never describe the underwhelming feeling, it always just happens and I always try to extinguish it and just tell myself that, no it was a great movie and that's that. "Close-Up" was a great, unique film and like I've said, it was unlike anything I've seen, easily earning it the "must see" tag. However, why am I not here now, prepared to give it a '10' or even a '9'. I myself don't even know. Let's just say that I fully expect this film to stick with me, linger in the forefront of my mind until I give in and admit that it was a masterpiece. For now, though, all I can say is see it for yourself and make your own opinions. You won't be disappointed by it, I'm sure.

RATING: 7.5/10  Not a bad rating at all, but I feel like I'm short changing it, while at the same time feeling like I'm giving it more credit than it deserves. Kiarostami is a tough nut to crack.

MOVIES WATCHED: 776
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 225

December 6, 2013  3:39pm

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881. Zire darakhatan zeyton/Through the Olive Trees (1994)

Running Time: 103 minutes
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami
Main Cast: Mohamad Ali Keshavarz, Farhad Kheradmand, Zarifeh Shiva, Hossein Rezai, Tahereh Ladanian
Click here to view the trailer

WE'RE MAKING MOVIES...

So it's been more than a few days since I've been around. Let's just say it's been a rough few days at the workplace and when I got home at night, I just didn't have the gusto to give any energy to watching a movie. However, I have officially begun my fall vacation and I fully expect to bombard you with movie reviews or at least try to. Don't forget I'm also a married man and my wife deserves some quality time as well - but we'll see what we can do.

The two main characters are in there somewhere...

Abbas Kiarostami pops up again on the list, moving in reverse chronological order, with "Through the Olive Trees" - his 1994 feature and the conclusion to his unofficial "Koker Trilogy". Koker refers to Koker, Iran, a small village which was rocked by an earthquake in the year 1990, killing many. The film starts with a movie director visiting an all female school, for the purpose of casting for a movie, which will use the Koker earthquake as a backdrop. At first, we merely meet the characters: follow a onset aide as she runs many errands; picking up props, giving other cast members lifts in her truck, etc. Later, the meat & potatoes of the film's plot is revealed as we meet Hossein (Rezai), one of the main characters in the fictional film (and the real one) who has recently proposed to a girl - a girl who happens to be his leading lady in the film. During shooting, tensions arise and it gets to the point where the girl won't even acknowledge her leading man, ignoring his dialogue cues and upsetting the director (Keshavarz). After a discussion between Hossein and the director, we learn that following the boy's proposal to the girl, he was shot down; not necessarily because of her own decision, but because her family forbade her to marry an illiterate, poor man. Since the failed proposal, the girl's family perished in the earthquake, however, she still won't give the poor guy the time of day. Tensions arise on set...

SPOILER ALERT!

Bear with me folks. As I said, I just got through some pretty grueling work days and there may be a dusting of blog rust on my brain.

I want to hit on a few non-opinionated things, but first let's get this out of the way - I didn't mind the movie that much, but would be hard pressed to propel it into "must see" territory, at least after one viewing anyway. It was neither boring, nor bad, maintained it's running time nicely and accentuated the outdoor beauty that is Iran. Look, I'm just an ignorant "westerner" whose only association of Iran came from watching The Iron Shiek on television, as a child. I hate to highlight my ignorance, but before Abbas Kiarostami, when I thought of Iran, I thought of desert area. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. Maybe it came from a picture in a text book, maybe an image on television, but it's what I always thought of. However, thankfully Kiarostami DID come along and made me realize that the landscapes of Iran are gorgeous, making me realize what a peaceful feeling it might be to stand amongst the olive trees of the title. Just to be clear, the entire film is nothing but outdoor shots, with not one interior location. I could be wrong, but I believe "Taste of Cherry" was also shot entirely outdoors.

One thing I wanted to touch upon was the relationship between the boy and girl (not surprising, considering it's what the plot revolves around). First off, Wikipedia notes that due to the culture clash, westerners usually take the girl as being 100% cold to the boy, while apparently she's actually also interested in him. I realize that some things that appear on Wiki can be taken with a grain of salt, but I found this interesting and it would actually make a little sense. If she has somehow shown some sort of interest in Hossein, then his constant nagging wouldn't be as annoying as it comes off. At least he'd have reason to nag, because she's shown interest in him and now he wants answers. Of course, there's also the ending, which again Kiarostami leaves open ended, allowing us to decide for ourselves. I guess I can play along here: The music suggests that she finally turned around and said "yes", but I'm more of a pessimist and I'd like to think she said "no". Why a "no" answer would send him running away, I haven't the slightest idea (unless she really ripped into him, sending him running away in tears), but that's what I think. Of course, this guessing game COULD HAVE been avoided if we'd just been given the proper 360 degree angle to this story...I'm really beginning to hate open endedness in pictures. Just tell me what you want to tell me and finish your story. Sometimes it works and when it does, I'll praise it. Honestly, it actually worked here, as the ending sort of needed some sort of "oomph" to kick this picture in the butt and make it a little more memorable. Otherwise, it's quite the subtle time at the movies. Good, not great is the verdict of the day.

RATING: 6.5/10  I could see this one growing on me honestly, so we'll see what happens in due time. Just a reminder, FRIGHTFEST kicks off THIS FRIDAY night with my review of "The Omen". Be there!

MOVIES WATCHED: 746
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 255

October 22, 2013  10:33pm

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921. Ta'm e guilass/Taste of Cherry (1997)

Running Time: 95 minutes
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami
Main Cast: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Safar Ali Moradi, Mir Hossein Noori
Click here to view the trailer

700 DOWN

Another quick update before my review: The copy of "Open Your Eyes" that I'd tracked down online isn't working properly for me. I'll try it again in the morning, but if it still isn't working I'll be forced to scramble and come up with a last minute replacement for that film. Stay tuned. By the way, current plans are for me to finish up the last movie and last review in the morning, make the TOP 20 tomorrow afternoon and post it either tomorrow night or Thursday. Now then...cherries and stuff...

"Taste of Cherry" is a pretty simple, little film and detailing it shouldn't take no time. Mr. Baadi (Ershadi) is driving around Tehran, Iran, looking for someone who will assist him when he kills himself the following morning. Basically the plan is for Mr. Baadi to take a bottle full of sleeping pills and lie down in a hole, that he's already pre-dug, beneath a cherry tree. If he's able to find someone to assist him, it will be that person's duty to come to him the following morning, at dawn and either A) cover him with dirt if, he's dead or B) help him out of the hole, if he's alive. He's offering 200,000 tomans for the man that will accept this odd job. First, Baadi picks up a soldier on his way to the barracks and a shy soldier at that. The soldier ultimately refuses to help out Mr. Baadi and ends up running away, perhaps thinking that Mr. Baadi is either crazy or that he has other motives. The second man that Mr. Baadi picks up is a seminarian and while he doesn't really try to talk Baadi out of suicide, he is stern that it goes against everything he believes in and that he cannot assist him. The third and last man that Mr. Baadi talks to is a taxidermist and because he has a child who is ill, he agrees to help Mr. Baadi. His name is Mr. Bagheri, a wise, old gentleman and as they drive through town, he tries to talk Mr. Baadi out of his decision

SPOILER ALERT!!

For those of you who have seen this movie and who have been following me for a long enough time, you probably already can kind of suspect what I'm going to say. You probably know my #1 gripe with this picture and the thing that ruined the entire movie for me...shall we say it together?...

The ending.

I'll get to the ending in a minute though. "Taste of Cherry" was a movie that I've been wanting to see for a very long time. I knew just by reading the plot that it sounded unusual and unique enough to be something special and just knew I'd like it, no matter what. And hey, I did like it. I mean, what's not to like? Oh sure, you'll have people who claim that it's boring, that it's just a man driving around in his car, talking to strangers, having the same conversations. But for me, it's right up my alley because I love dialogue driven movies and this is a movie where we're literally driving dialogue! The performances are very natural, almost like real conversations and it's probably a testament to Kiarostami, who sat either in the passenger's or driver's seat and played each scene like an interview, looking for genuine reactions from his actors.

Did I need to know why Mr. Baadi wanted to kill himself? Not at all. Did I need to know, in the end, whether Baadi lives or dies? Nope. However, would it have been nice to know both of those facts? Yes. Look, movies are storytelling, I think we can all agree on that. I've said it before and I'll say it again, don't give me this "interpret my own ending" bull crap. If you're a writer/director and you've got an idea for a film, then tell me a story. Show me things, let me all the way in and don't make me guess. I don't want to press this issue too much, because honestly, it wasn't that big of an issue for me. I'm fairly confident that we're given enough footage to know that Baadi probably dies in the end. Now, as it pertains to why he wants to kill himself, I'd have liked to have had a scene where he finally breaks down and tells Mr. Bagheri why he's committing suicide. In fact, when he runs back in to meet Mr. Bagheri, after dropping him off, I thought that's what we were going to get. However, it never comes and we're left to interpret. Why did you think Baadi was killing himself? Personally, I'd like to think he had a wife and she died. Perhaps he had a relationship like the one I have with my wife. Now, I could never do the relationship that my wife and I have justice with words, but let's suffice it to say that it's really something special and yes, if she were to pass away, I would probably want to pass away too. Well, I'd like to think that's what happened with Mr. Baadi and if I'm going to go ahead and thing that, then I can view the film a little easier, because now I can give Mr. Baadi the rest of his story, the story that we don't get from the STORYTELLER! Perhaps the spot where he wants to be buried was where they had their first date, first kiss, or maybe it's where they made love for the first time. These are my interpretations and I can draw from personal experiences/feelings (my wife) and make Mr. Baadi's journey more impactful. More impactful than if Kiarostami had just told me? I don't know.

Anyway, then there's that ending. No, not the one with Mr. Baadi lying in his grave. I'm sure he dies...at least that's my interpretation. No, I'm talking about the ending with the camera crew and Kiarostami himself appearing and even the actor who plays Baadi showing up. According to several online resources, it's apparently Kiarostami's way of telling us, "Don't worry. Don't cry, it's only a movie. Mr. Baadi is fictional and see, here's the actor that played him and he's just fine". Look, don't tell me it's only a movie. I pressed the play button, of course I know it's only a movie. I want to be emotionally rocked...that's what I paid for. No one goes into movies not knowing anything. Either we go to the theaters after seeing a trailer on television or we rent a DVD after reading the back of the box. When you read the synopsis or see the trailer for "Taste of Cherry" you're going in expecting to be emotionally wrenched. Now, there are some other interpretations, but the "don't worry" one seems to be the most popular.

At this point, I just really don't know how to take this film. In some ways, it was brilliant and in other ways I wanted a lot more. I loved it up to a certain point, but when it became apparent that we were going to have to help Kiarostami finish his ideas and then deal with that awful ending, it hurt the movie a lot. I was all prepared to come here and lay praise upon this picture and tell how I teared up a little at the end and really gush, but I didn't get to do that and with a few tweaks, it could've been the picture that I imagined it being. I really don't know...let me keep thinking...

RATING: 7/10  It's at least a '7', so there's that. Even now, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I had to interpret and I'm getting more comfortable with it, but I still think this film had much more potential and ultimately, despite the '7', I'm disappointed a little.

MOVIES WATCHED: 700
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 301

June 5, 2013  1:37am

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