Iranian Kiarostami is simply a master of composition. With his extremely long takes he plays with the audience's imagination through a very creative use of the offscreen space. The film offers a rare and truely charming view inside Iranian culture, and tells a story about love and marriage that must seem strange and hunting for most people in the western world. Definitely recommendable.

Lifeless, stolid and pretentious. Nicely framed, though.

#593

It is not every day that you see a love scene shown in an extreme long shot: the final scene of this wonderful movie is both the most beautifully executed and the most romantic ending to a film I have ever seen!

# 445

534

One of the most boring and pointless films ever produced

An incredibly fascinating web of self-reference. On one level, it's a comic look at the process of filmmaking. On another, it's about people coping with a tragic disaster. And on yet another, it's the story of a sweet courtship. And what makes it work is that none of these things are overplayed. They come together seamlessly in a cloud of cinema. As with any Kiarostami film, it's slow going and I admit there were times when it tried my patience but overall it was really worth it.

545

One of Kiarostami's best, Through the Olive Trees makes the best use of the "movie about making a movie" premise I've ever seen. Also, Kiarostami is at his best when his touch is the lightest, and here is a great example. Finally, the ending is a uniquely memorable cinematic achievement.

Slow but touching. If you haven't seen the two preceding films it's referencing it probably loses a bit of the impact but is still worthwhile as a unique look into how filmmaking and cultural norms mesh together in an Iranian village. If you have seen the preceding films you also get a very interesting meta narrative as well as an examination of how perception can change the meaning of an action, or in this case a movie scene.