I assumed this Iranian made Persian language film that I found out about from the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die would be about something chipper and cheerful, the subject was not what I expected at all, from director Abbas Kiarostami (Close-Up, Through the Olive Trees). Basically middle aged Iranian man Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi) is driving through Tehran in his car looking for someone to help him, and he is offering a large sum of money for whoever will do the job he is asking, he wants to commit suicide, and he is looking for someone to bury his body after he is dead, in a spot he has already chosen. He picks up random people as prospective candidates, starting with friendly conversation, getting to know more about them, and then eventually one by one he reveals his plan to them, all he needs them to do is cover him with earth in the grave he has dug, their reactions all seem different. The young and shy Kurdish soldier (Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari) is quickly shocked by the proposal and refusing to do the job runs away from the car, the Afghan seminarist (Mir Hossein Noori) is against a man killing himself for religious reasons and also refuses to do the job, but the third man, an Azeri taxidermist (Abdolrahman Bagheri), does not object. The taxidermist is willing to do the job, because he needs the money to give to his sick child, but he tries to persuade Mr. Badii not to kill himself, because he attempted suicide himself and only stopped after tasting mulberries (this is obviously the meaning behind the title), but he agrees he will cover his body if he finds him in the grave and dead in the morning. That night Mr. Badii leaves his car and walks in the darkness to the grave, a thunderstorm is beginning, but he lies in the hole, and he presumably kills himself, as the film blacks out, and the final shots of the film are behind the scenes camcorder footage of the crew making the film. In the leading role Ershadi gives a compelling performance, it is interesting you do not find out why the character wishes to kill himself, but on the other hand it adds to the intrigue of him trying to find someone willing to put him in the ground after he's done himself in, based on morality and mortality it is a fascinating story and most watchable drama. Very good!
Review of Taste of Cherry
