Abbas Kiarostami

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djross
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Abbas Kiarostami

Post by djross »

One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Abbas Kiarostami, has died:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/04/abbas-kiarostami-palme-dor-winning-iranian-film-maker-dies

His run of great movies and masterpieces that began in 1987 with Where is the Friend's Home? and continued until Like Someone in Love was a truly singular achievement that transformed what cinema could be as an art form. His filmmaking was extremely alive, and I think he most likely had more great movies in him, had he had the chance to realise them. Probably the greatest of all his works was Close-Up. Here is a short but interesting interview that should be read after seeing the movie:

http://www.janusfilms.com/closeup/closeup.pdf

Here is the philosopher Bernard Stiegler discussing the film:

http://www.parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia20/parrhesia20_stiegler.pdf

Here is the philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy's book on the film (this isn't a great way to read it though):

https://archive.org/details/KiarostamiAbbasTheEvidenceOfFilmByJeanLucNancy2001

And here is my little review, written ten years ago, of Geoff Andrew's book on 10:

https://www.academia.edu/12687271/Review_of_Geoff_Andrew_10_2006_

Until his death I think he was probably the greatest living cinematic artist.

dardan
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by dardan »

djross wrote:One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Abbas Kiarostami, has died


Agreed. Even though I've only had the pleasure of seeing one of his films, namely the masterpiece Close-Up, it is clear his somewhat young passing (76) is a great loss to culture and moviegoing audiences worldwide. I'll be sure to go on a Kiarostami marathon soon in his honour, saddened by the fact I'll never be able to watch the movies he intended to make had he not passed.

djross
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by djross »

Close-Up (1990), Life and Nothing More... (1992), Through the Olive Trees (1994), A Taste of Cherry (1997), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) Ten (2002) and Certified Copy (2010) are all crucial films to see. If possible, in chronological order.

ehk2
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by ehk2 »

can I ask a question? why do people here from Iran vote Kiarostami's films lower than other countries? Just investigate the stats. Is it related with his stance against Iranian regime? Any guess here?

This was a question or observation that I wanted to ask long ago.

[I'm from Turkey and I do not remember any significant thing like this for any Turkish director -nothing special for or against them in terms of voting. e.g. Just imagine voting lower for Nuri Bilge Ceylan. no. maybe the contrary]

dardan
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by dardan »

Mohsen Makhmalbaf echoed the sentiment, saying Iran’s cinema owes its global reputation to his fellow director, but that this visibility did not translate into a greater visibility for his work in his homeland.

“Kiarostami gave the Iranian cinema the international credibility that it has today,” he told the Guardian. “But his films were unfortunately not seen as much in Iran. He changed the world’s cinema; he freshened it and humanised it in contrast with Hollywood’s rough version.”


From the The Guardian article linked to by djross. It doesn't provide much of an explanation other than corroborating what you just said, but it indeed is a pretty remarkable fact.

Close-Up (1990), Life and Nothing More... (1992), Through the Olive Trees (1994), A Taste of Cherry (1997), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) Ten (2002) and Certified Copy (2010) are all crucial films to see. If possible, in chronological order.


I'll try to stick to this order, thanks.

VinegarBob
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by VinegarBob »

Dammit, that guy was one of the best filmmakers alive. I was always looking forward to his new film, whatever it was because it would always be great. Such a shame. He was one of a kind, and his films were more than just films. :cry:

djross
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by djross »

Yes it is true he was one of a kind. One reason, I think, is the long apprenticeship he served in the Iranian children's film unit (just as Bergman served a long apprenticeship in theatre and making his early films). Unlike some directors who may have started out making commercials in the advertising industry, or making music videos, Kiarostami's apprenticeship involved tackling the problem of what cinema is and what it is for, how it can and should relate to the audience, and how to allow young audiences room to interpret the movie without making things too obvious nor treating them as simpletons. The lessons he learned through this unique history and process were different from those learned by other filmmakers, and this perhaps goes some way to understanding the singularly direct yet allusive character of his approach. And as mentioned in my review of the book on Ten (linked above), I think the particular cultural effects of the Iranian revolution may also have been important to the aesthetics and approach of Kiarostami and of Iranian directors of that generation more generally.

Suture Self
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by Suture Self »

I just watched Where is the Friend's Home? and it was lovely. One of the better movies about children I've ever seen (and adults, too). The only other Kiarostami films I've seen are Like Someone In Love and Certified Copy, both of which were very good.

I'll make a point to watch some more of his films this month. Sad to see him go.

VinegarBob
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by VinegarBob »

ehk2 wrote:can I ask a question? why do people here from Iran vote Kiarostami's films lower than other countries? Just investigate the stats. Is it related with his stance against Iranian regime? Any guess here?


I think it is, and is due to the fact that some Iranians feel aggrieved that Abbas 'abandoned' Iran and made films abroad.

snallygaster
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Re: Abbas Kiarostami

Post by snallygaster »

I don't think it's that uncommon, actually. Check out Bergman's films' stats, for example. Or high-profile foreign films like City of God, Amelie, Downfall, etc. The fact is, films don't get international acclaim by being popular in their own countries. They get it by being popular in other countries. And it's probably going to be more true the artier the films get, because the types of people who like artsy films tend to be the same people willing to watch foreign films.

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