The Circle (Panahi ‘00)
An unrelated group of Iranian women experience discrimination of various kinds.
A somber cri de couer at the structural misogyny of the Iranian regime & its effects on ordinary women. Delicately handled & hauntingly real, this melancholy film was immediately banned in Iran.
The Traveller (Kiarostami ‘74)
A schoolboy schemes and hustles to attend a football match in Tehran.
Lean neo-realist drama, stripped of sentimentality & bogus emotion, capturing the urgencies of childhood with a forensic eye for place, people & detail.
A minor Kiarostami but highly recommended.
Offside (Panahi ‘06)
A group of Tehrani girls are caught sneaking into a World Cup game.
Banned in Iran, this sweet and funny lo-fi film has an acid core, providing a nuanced and humanist view of gender inequality under the regime. Charming, naturalistic and ultimately very moving.
Recommended.
The Red Circle (Melville ‘70)
A group of mismatched crooks plan an audacious heist while the police close in.
A stylish crime epic, glacially cool in tone and execution, with long stretches of dialogue-free action, it’s a gritty, melancholy watch brightened by a star performance from Alain Delon.
Tulpan (Dvortsevoy ‘08)
On the remote Kazakh steppe, a family of herders experience personal and professional difficulties.
An almost documentary reality lends weight to this poignant family drama, with the thin line between life and death graphically and believably depicted. Grim but fascinating.
Daisies (Chytilová ‘66)
Two spoiled girls called Marie decide to run wild and embark on an odyssey of consumption and destruction.
A formal & visual riot of a film, full of delirious, vibrant sequences. Chytilová owes a debt to Godard but this Czech film is darker, stranger and punkier.
Demented.
Had a fantastic time editing this series. Starts on BBC2 shortly.
The Mirror (Panahi ‘97)
A schoolgirl makes her way home through the teeming streets of rush hour Tehran.
An astonishing treat for cineastes, with a formal playfulness that is genuinely jaw-dropping. Hard to believe this experimental belter is not significantly more famous.
Read nothing. Dive in.
Taste of Cherry (Kiarostami ‘97)
A driver having an existential crisis picks up various passengers, asking for a favour.
Audacious, minimalist Palme D’Or winner is sombre but hopeful, mundane yet philosophical, weaving small scenes into an enigmatic masterwork, with a truly staggering final scene.
Close Up (Kiarostami ‘90)
A man impersonating a film director is put on trial.
Superb docufiction mixes actuality with reconstruction in original and ingenious ways. This fascinating true crime story is deepened by Kiarostami’s generous, humanist sensibility.
A one-of-kind, dazzling masterpiece.
Through the Olive Trees (Kiarostami’94)
The production of ‘And Life Goes On’ is complicated by the romantic lives of its amateur cast.
A spellbinding reconstruction of Kiarostami’s previous film and the conclusion of the Koker Trilogy. Funny, candid and one of the greatest films about film-making.
And Life Goes On (Kiarostami ‘92)
In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, a filmmaker goes looking for the child star of his previous film.
A sublime humanist drama, merging fact and fiction, filmed in a disaster zone. A moving depiction of suffering and resilence.
A genuinely perfect film.
Where Is the Friend’s House (Kiarostami ‘87) A little boy attempts to return his friend’s notebook in a neighbouring village.
A deceptively simple drama becomes a gripping, fable-like odyssey in this sensitive, beautifully observed film. Stellar child acting and an amazing location.
A masterpiece.
Crimson Gold (Panahi ‘03) A pizza delivery driver takes up a life of crime.
Poignant Iranian character study, written by Kiarostami, showcases hyper-naturalistic non-professional actors, a superb sense of place and a subtle, sideways look at the forces that maintain class division.
Phenomenal.
Dead Man’s Letters (Lopushanskiy ‘86)
In a ruined museum, a few desperate survivors ponder the inevitable after a nuclear holocaust.
Uncompromisingly bleak, this extraordinary Soviet sci-fi forgoes conventional drama in favour of existential angst and a profound sadness for the end of our species.
Diamonds of the Night (Nemec ‘64) Two boys escape a Nazi concentration camp into a wild landscape.
Hallucinatory, almost dialogue-free Czech New Wave movie. Grim reality is counterpointed with dreams, visions and memories as the narrative splinters and dissolves. Unique, far out, heady stuff.
Yeah, it’s exquisitely revolting that a man of such poor character can have been celebrated by so many otherwise capable people.
America is desperately in need of a ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir?’ moment.
Thanks very much! I retain a fondness for that film too.
The Flood
Printed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.