Taste of Cherry (1997)

In all honesty, I’m probably not knowledgeable enough about Iran and the various cultures that dominate that region to really give a proper review of this film.  Abbas Kiarostami’s story of a man trying to find someone to help him bury his body after committing suicide is so simple, with action so drawn out and meandering it’s almost boring.  It’s basically a man driving around in his Ranger Rover listening to strangers attempt to convince him to live. For me this film is like poetry.  I have to be in the right mindset to read poetry.  I enjoy it when I do but if I try to read an hour of great poetry when I’m geared for a short story or novel, I fall asleep or find my mind wandering.  Thankfully I was in the mood for such a film and I did enjoy it (I didn’t fall asleep) but I wasn’t as satisfied by this film as much as I had hoped.  Certainly it’s an artful exercise dealing with issues of life and death that we all face.  But at its core it’s an unconventional way to tell a story that could have easily been more inspiring to more people if Kiarostami had wanted it to be.  Grade: B