Movie #193 Taste of Cherry *1997*

Homayoun Ershadi - Mr. Badii
Abbas Kiarostami (Director)

This is my 2nd Kiarostami film that I have watched during this project.  The first being Ten (Movie #133).  This is also the 2nd film of his that is shot predominantly within the confines of a car.  This is my 2nd film of his that has long scenes of dull, pointless dialogue.  I will say that at least Ten have some conflict.  The boy that played the lead actresses son was an absolute brat.  He alone generated more dramatic tension than the entire film Taste of Cherry has.

This movie opens on Badii driving around the streets of Terheran looking at laborers.  He eventually (and by eventually I mean after 15 minutes of aimlessly driving around) convinces a young soldier to get in the car by offering him a ride.  As the conversation between the men begins Badii offers to pay the soldier to do a job.  At this point the homosexual undertones are brought to the forefront.  Badii really sounded like a pervert.  he did everything but ask this scared young man if he was clean.  By this heavy handed, forced conversation I though I was in for a lesson on the taboo of being gay in a Islamic, Middle Eastern country.  Instead what we find out is that Badii plans to kill himself on that night and he is looking for someone to cover his grave in dirt.  Freaked out the soldier bolts off into the mountains of Iran.

Taste of Cherry is a film that I think is more fun to discuss than it is to watch.  It is an award wining film, but in my opinion it committed the biggest possible cinematic sin.  It was boring.  I will set through a poorly made or "bad" movie if I can be kept interested.  I find it difficult and unnecessary to watch a film that is boring regardless of the production value.

Badii's next victim/co-pilot is a Muslim priest in training.  He again drives around for what felt like hours having a meaningless conversation and avoiding the point of the ride all together.  This is what I call an "Idiot Plot".  This is where the solution to a problem in the script can be solved by the characters just speaking about what is going on or what is needed.  Instead the story needs them to be aloof and vague in order to movie the plot along.  The TV show Heroes was famous for this.  Badii rambles as he drives along all the while the priest is trying to help him so that he doesn't kill himself.  But Kiarostami decides not to have Badii go into what is weighing so heavily on him and instead he becomes mute like.  He stops talking all together like an angry child. 

Despite my negative review there are a few things worth seeing in the film.  First off the scenery is beautiful at first.  The orange/brown color pallet is visually stimulating for a while, but after an hour or so I wanted something more.  There is a scene at a construction site where we can see Badii's shadow and there is a dirt mover pouring dirt on his shadow.  This was a cool effect.

In a very strange edit we jump cut to a Turk in the car with Badii and they have apparently had the typical conversation and the Turk agrees to cover the grave in the morning.  Prior to the conversation confirming the burial, we have never met the Turk.  The Turk then goes on to blather for days (or so it felt by now) without really saying anything profound.  He tries to make an allegory about mulberries saving his life, but it falls on deaf ears.  Both Badii's and mine. Once the agreement is made Badii drops the Turk off and begins to have 2nd thoughts.  I was praying for a meaningful existential conversation, but all we are given is nervous small talk.  I think a person could watch this film in slow motion and not really miss anything.  Come to think of it, It would still be boring. 

Once we make it towards the end of the film (again with the driving?) Badii has taken a handful of sleeping pills and he lays down in his will-be grave.  There is a thunderstorm rolling in and the lightening on his face is stunning as it illuminates an otherwise black screen.  Then we fade up on very cheap looking digital video camera footage.  What had been a brownish orange desert landscape is now lush with greenery.  We are then "treated" to about 5 minutes of behind the scenes footage of Kiarostami and his cast and crew working.

I like a film that challenges me, but not one that seems odd for the sake of being odd.  I really have no idea what was trying to be said with that ending.  If the director was trying to remind his audience that they are watching a movie, then this is the biggest cinematic masturbation I have ever seen.  If is something else then I needed a little more insight.

I wouldn't say that Taste of Cherry is a "bad movie".  It is very well made.  Its structure is unique and its premise is simple and eloquent.  But somewhere along the way the train went off the rails and we ended up with a train wreak of a movie.  I give Taste of Cherry ★★.