Features: DVD
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry is a lyrical, emotionally complex meditation on life and death. Middle-aged Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi) drives through the hilly outskirts of Tehran—searching for someone to rescue or bury him.Click here for more Criterion favorites!
Editor's Note
Emerging out of an Iranian cinema renaissance, TASTE OF CHERRY is seen by many as its crowning achievement. The story of somber yet intense Mr. Badii and his journey through Tehran, the film emerges as a sort of spiritual road movie. Intent on finding an aid for his planned suicide, Badii encounters citizens from every walk of life; a trash collector, a soldier, and a seminarian, all of whom refuse to help him, either out of a sense of religion or personal morality. Seen from the car, the dusty landscape and sumptuous golden dusk light of Tehran play a central role in the film, penetrating every scene. Finally a jocular taxidermist agrees to help, all the while trying to sell Badii on the quotidian joys of nature and everyday life. The meandering pace of the film gently unfurls in a series of encounters and dialogues that form its core, revealing the character not only of Badii, but also of Iranians and humans in general.
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