Kargaran mashghoole karand

A bunch of old men traveled in a deserted road. Then in the middle of the way one of them wanted to pee so they stopped and they saw a strange rock . And like children whole the movie tried to remove the rock first by pushing it themselves then with help of a donkey then with help of other people passed and their cars . And meanwhile some people came and went and some small stories happened .

The story was boring but the cinematography and the generally the movie was good it was somehow a amateur version of Kiarostami cinema

I just wonder What is wrong with u old men what the hell u want to do with the poor rock??

A bare bones synopsis of this film might lead you to expect that it is lethally boring. Four middle aged buddies are returning to Tehran from a trip to the mountains, trying to get back in time to watch an important soccer match on TV. Their homeward journey grinds to a halt when they round a curve in the highway and are confronted by a natural monolith, a 10 foot high, narrow rock formation, projecting straight up out of the ground, overlooking the canyon below. They spend the rest of the movie trying to topple it. Hmmmmm. Not a narrative arc that causes gooseflesh exactly, am I right? What makes this short movie almost spellbinding instead has nothing to do with the rock, but everything to do with the etchings of character that unfold as each man reacts to the circumstances, and they all kill a lot of time just doing guyspeak, largely about their women, past and present. Fleshing out that theme, one might say, are appearances by two of the women in their lives who – either inadvertently or by design – show up at the rock project. They too prove to be intriguing and contrasting personalities.

This film, based on a story by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, is reminiscent of the work of John Cassavetes, and, like his films, this one is not for everyone's taste. Even an Iranian attendee left half way through. But not us. (In Farsi) My grades: 6.5/10 (low B) (Seen on 12/18/06)

Highly recommended for its human comedy and revealing, fine acting. You won't see something like this coming out of Hollywood. The story is almost a shaggy dog, but keeps out of sentiment or farce. Male bonding, unbonding, rebonding, coming to the realization of aging and the mysteries of friendship. You'll feel better about Iranians after the film, so it's also a "feel good" movie. A fine example of film being a universal language. You will remember it as if you were along on the trip yourself. The cast is superb and works with a good ensemble feel, including a couple of wives/sweethearts who are searching for the men on the mountain road and some passersby who can't help but stop and get in on the action, including an old man with a donkey who plays an integral part. The donkey, that is. Tip - top.

This is a film which is best described as an Absurdist fantasy in which an entirely ridiculous situation is played absolutely straight. Now when I say "Absurdist", I do not mean like BUFFET FROID or something by Luis Buñuel--where events get weirder and weirder as the movie progresses. Instead, there is an initially ridiculous plot point and the rest of the film seems normal--except that the point that brings everything together is just insane.

The absurd aspect of the plot is just a very large rock by the side of the road and as a group of middle aged men are returning home through the Iranian mountains, they happen upon it and spend the rest of the film trying to dislodge it--all for no particular reason. At first, it starts as a whim and later is becomes practically a holy mission to one of them and they suffer exceedingly--just to dislodge a stupid rock! The rock, if you haven't guessed, is just an excuse to bring these men together and allow their personalities to be gradually exposed as the film progress. This isn't a bad idea and the acting is pretty good. The problem for me is just that the tiny idea after a while just isn't enough to hold my attention. I really think this might have worked better if it had been perhaps 45 minutes instead of 78. Still, a noble experiment and it was certainly different.

A few final thoughts. I'm one of the few Americans out there that has seen quite a few Iranian films and I have never disliked any of them--and loved a few (particularly CHILDREN OF HEAVEN and THE COLOR OF PARADISE). What has amazed me most about the films is how like us the Iranian people are--despite the rhetoric you see in news reports. The same conflicts, desires for freedom and love of family unite them that unite Westerners. Hopefully, at some point, we'll all recognize these commonalities and stop all the distrust. This isn't a political statement--just a desire for us all to get along and realize we're all God's children. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.