Apur Sansar

Abbas Kiarostami's Where is the friend's home? is a lovely little film. It has a fabulous little story and made without any kind of gimmick or show off. I know quite a number of people who ask for realism in movies. I wonder if those souls could actually sit through a film like these because this is beyond the realism that they can imagine. Where is the friend's home? is a slow film. It is slow but it is also a picture that grows. The progress of the film is slow for a reason and that is connected with the kind of story that Kiarostami narrates. I wonder how Kiarostami  has managed to execute the classroom scenes in the film and make that child perform so well. The characters, the setting and everything about the film manages to carry so much life and the conclusion of the film is no less wonderful.

Please Don't Disturb is an interesting film but not exceptional. What actually irritated me was the documentary kind of film making which the director had implemented to narrate his story. This nature actually made a few minutes of the film rather too boring as well. The basic thing about I film which I have a strong point on is realism. Film may or may not be realistic. It is not at all necessary that a film has to be realistic. A point when the film becomes too real and less cinema is when it would turn into a documentary. And that is exactly what has happened to the film by Mohsen Abdolvahab. But I would not deny that the fact that the film featured some exceptionally brilliant performances. And if one would ask me who the pick of them would be, my answer would definitely be the old man in who has problems with his memory. His presence carried the best part of the film and he has done an amazing work. There has been an interesting way the narration shifts the characters as well....

The song of the sparrows comes from the director Majid Majidi, the director who made Children of Heaven. The song of the sparrows is yet another masterpiece from the maker. A film that has a heart and soul. The beautiful story has traces and reminders of Children of Heaven but it is not definitely the reminding that makes this a great film but the beauty of the writing and the innocence of the characters. As the scene changes from one to another Majid Majidi is almost writing a beautiful poem with human emotions. The scene of the gold fish in the poster will be one you will never forget when you witness it on the cinema. A movie for life.

Taste of Cherry happens to be the first Abbas Kiarostami film I'm seeing. It has a simple yet challenging plot. The movie is definitely not meant for all kinds of moviegoers. The story happens in a small setting, with brilliantly taken long shots and some terrific visual imagery. Though slow, the treatment of the film and the dialogues spoken by the characters will keep the interest quotient alive all the way. Taste of Cherry is a little film with a beautiful heart. Watch it.