Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry is an emotionally complex meditation on life and death. Middle-aged Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi) drives through the hilly outskirts of Tehran—searching for someone to rescue or bury him. Criterion is proud to present the DVD premiere of Taste of Cherry in a beautiful widescreen transfer. —The Criterion Collection
Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career as a filmmaker at the age of 30. Since then he has made many movies and has become one of the most important figures in contemporary Iranian film. He is also a major figure in the arts world, and has had numerous gallery exhibitions of his photography, short films and poetry. He is an iconic figure for what he has done, and he has achieved it all by believing in the arts and the creativity of his mind. —World Cinema Foundation
Spent the first half of the film feeling like I was wandering as much as the characters therein but the final 30 minutes had be gripped. I love how his pacing turns the mundane into poetry. All the upsets about the ending rather miss the point. He has made it a point to disconnect himself from western escapist cinema, he does not allow us to hide in his films but instead sabotages them so his ideas must enter us.
Taste of Cherry has one of the most beautifully shocking yet subtle endings I've ever seen. Strangely, I didn't notice it until five seconds before the credits. I then quickly watched the ending again in awe.
You have to understand that Kiarostami is trying to deconstruct "manipulative" (i.e. emotionally engaging) film technique here. When you get that, you can really start to dislike the movie.
Conan O'Brien's rousing open letter to the "People of Earth" is all the rage over the wires and in the ether at the moment, but there's another
If a man drove up to me in a range rover and asked me if I wanted to make a lot of money for 10 minutes worth of work, I would probably tell my wife that someone thought I was a male-prostitute. Taste… read review
I watched it late at night and I fell asleep halfway. I kept dreaming about it… well not ABOUT it, but my dreams were tinged with the same kind of mood/atmosphere/feel/pacing. Then I woke up at like… read review
(Originally written March 4, 2005)
Never have I seen a film as challenging as this film in terms of staying awake and maintaining any trace of interest. The main character is looking for someone… read review