Saturday, October 24, 2009

#447: Ten (2002)

Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Cast: Mania Akbari, Amin Maher ...

Ten conversations shot from the dashboard of a car describe society in Tehran in 2002. The driver speaks with her son, a religious woman, a prostitute, and a friend who just broke up with her long-term boyfriend. Through these conversations, a mosaic is created, formulating a picture of female repression in a culture where religion is weaved into every aspect of a person's life.

This is a film with a lot of potential to expose the problems in Iranian society, but it simply doesn't do much (for me at least). I'm gonna have to agree with Ebert - one of the few with a negative review of this film - when he said that this film is not something to watch, but something to read about.

Supposedly these conversations were based on real ones which the main actress had had in her life, which gives the film a bit of credibility. The format of the film is similar to a documentary, and the acting is perfectly believable. The fact that it has a foundation in real life is a nice thing to know when viewing.

Certainly an interesting view... if only it went somewhere. It's interesting to see that Empire chose this film for the list and not one of the others by Kiarostami, who had one the Palme d'Or for Ta'm e guilass.

Sorry for not posting the trailer today, kids - couldn't find one anywhere.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

  • Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#01, with "Choses secrètes")

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