Quiet and unassuming, Abbas Kiarostami's meditation on connection and charity has a lulling rhythm that becomes so hypnotic that any sudden movement--and there's only one--jolts you almost as much as a fright in a horror film. Kiarostami uses a simple cinematic style consisting of real-time long takes and basic cutting between two characters (the only conversations are between two people at a time) but his camera always seems to be in the exact place it needs to be, capturing both the close-up nuances of the actors and their smallness against the Iranian landscape. (Many of the exterior shots are of a lone Range Rover driving on the outskirts of an unnamed city.) The elegant story concerns a man (Mr. Badii, played with a haunting lyricism by Homayon Ershadi) wishing to commit suicide and trying to find someone who will assist him by arriving the next day to see if he is alive or dead. He selects only men he determines to be in a state of financial crisis and who are dedicated to their families or their religion and to whom payment will bring relief. Each man rejects the notion of suicide, representing, in turn, fear of the unknown, religious and moral conviction, and faith in the goodness of life; and although Mr. Badii gives no reason for his desire to die, irregardless of his unhappiness it's clear he wishes to return to the earth which has borne humankind. Kiarostami refuses to pass judgment against his gentle characters' decisions, giving each person respect and dignity even when they're unable to put their convictions into meaningful words: they're good men asked to assume an enormous responsibility they do not understand. The film concludes with subtle, beautiful ambiguity (we never learn Mr. Badii's fate and the coda is an odd excerpt of the filmmakers at work) and its power is a result of the reflection that comes afterward. A unique experience, not to be missed.
Review of Taste of Cherry
