Reviews of Taste of Cherry
Displaying all 3 reviews
Greg
23Jan10
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 of Cherry only slowly discloses information to the viewer; and even then, not everything is told. It takes several conversations for the viewer to figure out what the man means by making a lot of money for 10 minutes worth of work.
Abbas Kiarostami has said that he is often asked by western viewers and critics what it is like to work as a filmmaker in the Islamic Republic of Iran and what impact censor ship has on him. He no longer consider making movies with family dynamics because the family dynamics of contemporary Iran is foreign to him. This takes him to the interior world where people contemplate their lives. He directs his actors as if they are unsure what to say or do at times.
For me this is a “gem” of a film. (Its silly to call such a prize winning film a little gem, but here I go.) A lot of thought went into it and yet its simple. The action takes place driving around. There are few actors and the sets are simple. Anyone could have made the film but no one else could have made it.
- Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
jimmylorunning
15Nov09
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 3am or something and watched it over again, this time not falling asleep. I was mesmerized and hooked and loved every second of it. Later, I read that Kiarostami would rather you sleep through his movies than be “taken hostage” by them, which I instantly understood and related to. His movies haunt you long after rather than take you hostage.
- Currently 5.0/5 Stars.
Todd Kushigemachi
8Jul09
(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 to help him commit suicide. This film takes its time, often forgetting that it has an audience to keep interested. The slowness is not worth it, culminating in an ending that is open, try and uninspiring. The film has its moments of beauty, hinting at the small things in life with its images. The film was stripped down to the barest essentials to say something meaningful but, unfortunately, it stripped away too much and did not have much to say. There was no reason to relate to the main character, and his driving around was a contrived metaphor for his self-discovery on the path to his grave. The film meanders just as the character drifts looking for someone willing to help him die and never establishes an emotional core the audience can relate to. Director Kiarostami tries too hard to test his audience both philosophically and artistically and ends up pushing more people away that it takes in. The footage of the film crew at the very end of the film was impenetrable. It was pointless and added absolutely nothing to the film except a postmodern finishing touch to this overrated cinematic wasteland. In the end, the film amounts to nothing except an important unanswered question about life, pretty images, and a potential nap.
- Currently 1.0/5 Stars.