07/23/2002 Entry:
"Where is The Friend's House? - Abbas Kiarostami (1987)
Life, And Nothing More - Abbas Kiarostami (1991)"

I was totally stoked when I saw that Film Center was bringing these two Kiarostami features, which I had never seen. I had pretty much resigned myself to having to catch most of the older Kiarostami on video at some point, and the opportunity to see these films projected is a real treat (even in scratchy somewhat worn prints.)

Where Is The Friend's House? was by far my favorite of the two. When you're a kid, something as simple as returning a friend's notebook takes on an almost mystical importance, and Kiarostami does a masterful job of making such a small story loom so large. The extended sections wherein Ahmed interacts with the adults around him are as frustrating to us as they are to him, with the exception of the old man at the film's end. But then even though the old man treats him with seriousness, his quest remains unfilled. I didn't notice a lot about the technique used, which has been my experience with all the other Kiarostami films I've seen - his technique is so subtle and understated that I barely notice it without multiple viewings. However many of the trademark aspects of Kiarostami's filmmaking can be seen here - long conversations combined with travel, understated camera moves (some panning here and there), lack of a soundtrack, and an emotional ending that comes out of nowhere to knock your socks off.

There is an interesting cultural behavior I've noticed in characters in Iranian films that I wonder about, and I'm finding it difficult to put into words. In some situations, many characters in these films seem unable to give up or let something go, they will stand and make the same arguments round and round with someone for like ten minutes on end before finally giving up. You see this in this film, in the scene where Ahmed argues with his mother about going to return the notebook. It seems obvious after about a minute that this argument can not be won by the child, however he keeps hammering away at it for what seemed like ten minutes. I have seen this in other Iranian films as well, and I am forced to come to the conclusion that this is a personality trait common to the Iranian culture. I personally find these scenes frustrating and uncomfortable, although its obvious that in general the characters involved don't (or if they do, they are more accepting of it.) I find this really interesting. One of the great things to me about Kiarostami's films is that while they give you a lens into another culture, their themes and stories are totally universal. Kiarostami could have easily turned A Taste Of Cherry into a film about suicide in Iran and its political and social ramifications, and while he touches on these issues in a sort of roundabout way, he really made a film which can be felt and experienced on a much more global level. However, his films are still about Iran and Iranians and the way they live their lives on a day to day basis which I also find pretty fascinating. There are alwys these different levels of meaning and theme which are constantly moving around and balancing in Kiarostami's films, I love that about them and find them endlessly fascinating.

And I haven't even gotten to the second film, Life And Nothing More, which I honestly didn't enjoy nearly as much. Not to say it wasn't a good movie, it was a damn fine one, it just to me wasn't up to the level of some of the other Kiarostami I've seen. One of the things that bothered me about it was the fact that at some points it had an actual musical score, which I really felt was distracting given that the rest of the film was just dialog. However it was an interesting exploration of one of his main themes - the film within a film, or perhaps more appropriately the film as film. As always I wonder how much of this is real and how much isn't, did Kiarostami really go searching for his child actors after the earthquake? I did notice that many of the scenes of destruction and driving through disaster areas seemed to be filmed at a different time from the rest of the movies, implying that he went and filmed the disaster when it happened, then later filmed the rest of the movie and edited the earthquake footage in with the staged stuff. The other interesting aspect of this film is that in a lot of ways it really seems a precursor to his later work in that muchof it takes place in a car and portions of it consist of long drawn out conversations in the car. The scenes watching "The Director" driving "Ahmed" along these dusty trails from a distance were totally reminiscient of Taste Of Cherry.

I am realizing that I keep referencing Taste Of Cherry here, and I should point out that it is the only late-period narrative work of Kiarostami's I've seen. Other than that and ABC Africa, I believe Life And Nothing More is the most recent of his films I've viewed. Obviously there's a huge gap there, and it seems sad that it is easier for me to see films he did a decade ago than the ones he did more recently. Thanks Miramax! You fuckers! (Yes I know they aren't the only ones to blame.)