Abbas Kiarostami has such a way of tugging on one's heartstrings, and in this case it's over a boy who may not be an obvious choice to empathize with. He's already been held back a grade in school and still isn't doing his homework, and we'll soon see him stealing and running scams in a desperate attempt to raise the money necessary to go see a soccer match in Tehran, nearly 400km away. That scheme will only work if he sneaks out of the house at night without his parents' knowledge, and take an overnight bus ride to a city he's completely unfamiliar with. Hey, I thought I was crazy about sports.
True to his deep sense of humanism it doesn't feel like Kiarostami is judging anyone here, but I felt a subtle critique of the adults in this boy's life, those that have shaped him the most. His father is completely apathetic as to his lack of attention in school, and his mother is illiterate and very busy with all of her household tasks, so she struggles to check up on him too. Meanwhile, the teacher is rather mean, something we see when he tells the boy he hopes his tooth rots (when the boy is feigning a toothache), and later administering physical punishment with full permission of the mother. He takes the boy's soccer magazine because it isn't appropriate to read in class, but then sits down and begins reading it himself as another child continues with the lesson.
The simple story avoids melodrama and works because it feels so authentic - these are the kinds of dumb things kids do, with little thought to repercussions. The actor playing the main character, Hassan Darabi, does a great job, completely melting into the part, and there are all sorts of endearing little moments, like the expressions on the kids' faces while they think he's taking their portraits (he's just pocketing their money instead). Kiarostami is incredibly restrained, something I thought impressive for just his second feature film, as the big moment at the soccer game is understated, and he doesn't carry on with emotional scenes afterwards. Aside from wondering how this kid will get home and what will happen to him when he does, I wondered where he would be in ten or twenty years, as he seems resourceful and motivated for the thing he cares about, but lacks positive guidance. Wisely, Kiarostami doesn't sew things up, letting the viewer decide. Great stuff.
