9/3/23 (Sun)
This is the final film in Kiarostami’s so-called Koker Trilogy. The second was a recreation of the director’s search for the stars of the first film after the deadly earthquake in the region. This one deals with trouble that the director had when making the second film, especially that between the man and woman who played the newlyweds in that film’s most memorable scene. The unplanned trilogy is like Matryoshka dolls emerging from inside one another.
8/30/23 (Wed)
The alternative English title of this 1992 work is “Life and Nothing Else”, which appears (courtesy of Google Translate) to be the literal translation of the Persian. The official English title is taken from a line in the film.
The director revisited the location of his 1987 film Where Is the Friend’s House? after the colossal earthquake that decimated the area in 1990 to confirm if the children in the film were safe. His experience led him to turn that quest itself into a documentary of sorts. Continue reading
8/27/23 (Sun)
I happened upon Kiarostami’s 1987 work after seeing his fascinating Close-Up from a few years later. The devastating 1990 earthquake in Iran apparently led to two follow-up films, producing what is called the Koker Trilogy after the town in which they’re set. But obviously that wasn’t planned when this film was made.
sekenbanashi 