Ta'm e guilass (1997)

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami (writer)

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Middle-aged Mr.Badii is planning to commit suicide and desperately seeks anyone to assist him - he has already dug out the grave in the mountains...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Hole | Long Take | Iran | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Homayoun Ershadi	...	Mr. Badii
Abdolrahman Bagheri	...	Mr. Bagheri
Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari	...	Soldier
Safar Ali Moradi	...	The soldier
Mir Hossein Noori	...	The seminarian
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ahmad Ansari

Also Known As:

Taste of Cherry (UK) (USA)
Le goût de la cerise (France)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Iran | France

Language:

Persian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Finland:S | Hungary:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Company:

Abbas Kiarostami Productions

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 1997 (#06).

Quotes:

Mr. Bagheri: If you look at the four seasons, each season brings fruit. In summer, there's fruit, in autumn, too. Winter brings different fruit and spring, too. No mother can fill her fridge with such a variety of fruit for her children. No mother can do as much for her children as God does for His creatures. You want to refuse all that? You want to give it all up? You want to give up the taste of cherries?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wo de fu qin mu qin (1999)

There is nothing in it

This is one of those movies that pretend to be layered and have deeper significance than all that appears.But knowing the other works of this director and how he only treads in lukewarm, shallow waters... it is nothing different from his other works.

His films have received a lot of good reception- only because they show new localities (Iran), in harmless, "safe" topics with not much substance or depth, and in dull, drab drawn out scenes. Perhaps it appeals to those who are bored to death of watching the regular commercial Hollywood films, those who can't stomach really strong films and those who wish to create non-existent depths in a very one dimensional film. Some comments mention cinematic genius in scenes, some looking for metaphysical meanings in the sound of a helicopter or the scenery--I guess you could look at it that way- or anything in that way. But please, there are no comparisons between cinematic greats like Tarkowsky, Bergman and others.

Kiarostami was and is one who takes the safe path always... never provokes, never motivates and all "debates" sparking from his films are merely because few can believe that there is nothing more to it than what they see and hear. A weak director with no signs of improvement, in my opinion.

And a film best described as a placebo... you think you get an effect, and perhaps that's good enough for the critics and the fans of this film. Wants to start a topic, gets up and falls flat on the face. My comments go against the ocean of praise here- but watch the film again, think over it- is there really substance there? and compare with other Iranian films. Much better fare in Iranian cinema is out there.