KIAROSTAMI MANIA!

IRANIAN FILMMAKER: ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

One of the true masters of contemporary cinema, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has won not only the admiration of audiences and critics worldwide, but also the support of directors as distinguished as Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker, and Akira Kurosawa.

Kiarostami belongs to a generation of filmmakers who created the so called "New Wave", a movement in Iranian cinema that started in the 1960s, before the revolution of 1979 and flourished in the 1970s. Directors like Farrokhzad, Saless, Bayzai, and Kimiavi were the pioneers of this movement. They made innovative art films which had highly political and philosophical tones and poetic language.

Where is Friends Home/Where is Friends House? (1987) is a remarkable and simple piece of film which tells the story of a young school boy, Ahmed and his search for his friends house, Nema. Ahmed wishes to return Nema’s school book which he had accidentally taken, knowing that his friend will be in trouble by their teacher otherwise, the film outlines the moral drama of this boys life.

THE YOUNG VS THE OLD..

The search for Nema’s house is not in the slightest mundane, he is distracted by neighbours whom are mainly old which outlines and highlights childhood innocence to the maximum and different worlds that both generations live in. Questioning villagers about his friend's residence forms a rhythmic pattern that poetically grows in intensity as the film proceeds.

Selectively using Middle Eastern stringed instrumentation at certain key moments and using very few editing cuts, Kiarostami's camera remains in complete control throughout in creating a profoundly memorable portrait of rural life in modern Iran, and especially of the non-professional actors. This makes his work authenticity, the long intimate takes require the actors to remain in character all the way.

Little takes place in this film, most of the journey lies within, the audience an intimate view of the protagonist. In an interview Kiarostami discussed;

“I like to put audience’s to sleep in the cinema, it is important they leave untouched and unprovoked but at the same time the memory of my film will not be forgotten. Too many films these days provoke and belittle the audience”

By the end of Where is Friends Home/Where is my Friends House? you will feel like you know young Amed better than his own parents do. The poetic beauty of the film is unpretentious and flows like water, the audience is certainly not being belittled here and you are likely to seek out more films from this unconventional, award winning filmmaker.

Some of his films include:

Ten (2002)

A Taste of Cherry (1997) ` .;

Through The Olive Trees (1994)

Homework (1989)