Through the Olive Trees

Everyone should get a second chance, and even though Abbas Kiarostami's film And Life Goes On definitely didn't do it for me, and I also clearly defined the risks that his work entails, I still decided to take a risk given the cycle of Iranian movies that were running on TV. I didn't expect much, but Kiarostami surprised me with his minimalism. To trim cinematography like this requires a special kind of artist. For me, as a fan of genre films, Kiarostami is inedible. I won't send his movie, which is intended for a completely different category of viewers, to the fiery hells, but giving it only one star and an overall impression of 25% clearly indicates my maximum distance away from it. (11.03.2021)

Stylistically, Iranian cinema is quite interesting, especially in the case of director Abbas Kiarostami, who shows that a film, whether documentary or fiction, can be conceived in an incredibly unique way. A similar approach can be found in several of his films. And it works. It's unique, but it doesn't necessarily captivate you. (14.03.2016)