On Sun, 24 Oct 2004, Chris Doss wrote:
> I caught an Iranian movie on TV last night involving a female taxi driver
> picking up various riders and talking to them about love relationships.
> encluding a prostitute. First, I was amazed that they would allow
> prostitution in Iran. Second, I was amazed that such a movie could even
> get made there. Is much of this stuff out there? I knew Iranian films are
> supposed to be really good, but this was surreal.
One of the amazing things about Iranian films has always been how much latitude they are allowed. Word is they spend a lot of time fighting with the Ministry of Culture. But national prestige is one of their best cards, and the guy who made this film, Abbas Kiarostami, is the most renowned of all Iranian film-makers. (The name of the film is "10," by the way.) Not only does she interview a prostitute, but she herself is divorced, which is also rare in Iran. But both situations are mainly foils for raising discussion. He's definately not endorsing either, just exploring. The film is basically about Women in Iran Today and the conversation with the prostitute seems like a contrived foil so that he can talk about sexual questions.
BTW, if you like this, he's made others that are much better that you'll love. I highly recommend _Taste of Cherry_ as well as any of the Earthquake Trilogy: _Through the Olive Trees_, _Life and Nothing More_ and _Where is the Friends House_. I think they all have the touch of genius about them. I personally thought the best part of "10" was the first scene with her son, and that it progressively ran out of steam after that. But the other films stay kind of fascinating and refreshing and even gripping even as they move in a kind of extended slow motion. _Touch of Cherry_ is also made up mostly of car interviews, but it's in a whole other class IMHO.
Michael