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.