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A middle-aged and middle class man drives through the streets of Tehran, searching for someone who might assist him. He turns away the eager men who crowd his window, in hopes of being hired for day labor. It's not clear what he wants, and not clear he knows exactly what he's looking for, and when he finally picks up a young man in a military uniform, the young man's growing apprehension mirrors our own. What kind of job demands such secrecy? Of course, if you've read the back of the dvd case, you know what he wants is for someone to assist him with suicide. More precisely, he wants someone to come and bury him when the job has been done. A paradox of the film is that in order to die alone, to leave behind no trace, this man requires an assistant. He cannot end his life alone. What is intriguing about the opening scene is that it sets up the uneasy soldier as a kind of surrogate for the audience, who will witness and assess this man's decision to end his life. It raises questions for us, not only about the significance of life and what considerations might lead one to end it, but also about what it means to be a witness, what it means to observe a man's life, questions that will be intensified as the story progresses.
The film is deceptively simple, following the man as he attempts to convince someone, but not just anyone, to perform this final act, to cover him with dirt when he is gone. It turns out, upon reflection, to have been structured with a great deal of precision, with two major parts divided by a transition during which the man stops to observe the workings of a nearby gravel site. The digging of the earth, the anonymous machines hauling gravel and soil, all serve as subtle reminders of the burial contemplated by the man. There is a powerful moment, as the man looks over the edge of a pit where dirt falls, and it seems as though his shadow is shrouded by the soil and silt. He sits as the mounting dust obscures him from view, and a man comes and calls to him, in a manner that anticipates what he asks his prospective helpers to do, to call his name and be sure he is dead before burying him. The three men he solicits as assistants are at different stages in their lives, and may suggest different generations and walks of life in Iran - they also seem to represent three very different perspectives on the theme of the film, on the question whether and why life should be lived at all costs: the perspective of the youth and of the military establishment, where law is decisive; the perspective of religion from a cleric in training, where morality and faith are called upon, and judgment is passed; and the perspective of a wise and aging taxidermist, who does not judge but only asks that the man stop and consider whether there is anything he values and could live for. In his case, when he had himself contemplated his own end, it had been "the taste of cherries" that awakened him to feel and care again.
The final scene is both enigmatic and rich, and recalls Kiarostami's deliberate tendency in films such as
Close-Up
to withdraw from key moments and allow viewers to fill in the gaps, allowing the enigma to intensify the imaginative response. The exuberant and upbeat ending, in contrast with the style and feel of the film to that point, also points back to the beginning, opening space for reflection on the cinematic techniques and themes of the film as a whole, and manages to introduce new concerns such as the nature of cinema, of realism and fiction. I have seen this film many times and see more each time. Rather than make it seem more complicated, it gets simpler, more direct, with each new insight. This is one of the great works of cinema, by one of the most intriguing of living filmmakers. Highly recommended.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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May 30, 2005 "Please retry" | — | 2 |
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| — | $53.90 |
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January 1, 2005 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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Top reviews from other countries
Gabriel Trejo
Hermosa edición.
Reviewed in Mexico on November 11, 2020
Gabriel Trejo
Reviewed in Mexico on November 11, 2020
La versión está remasterizada en 4K y es una verdadera belleza verla acompañada de todo el material extra. Vale totalmente tener esta edición de Criterion Collection.
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literary critic
A film that is also visual art
Reviewed in Canada on December 23, 2007
starlightspacelab
A must have Kiarostami.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2020Leif Rune Sundli
About death and life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2012