Dave S
On the surface, the premise of Abbas Kiarostami’s Where is the Friend’s House? is pretty straightforward: a schoolboy sets off on a journey to return a notebook to a classmate who lives in a neighboring village. On a deeper level, Kiarostami may be hinting at the importance of maintaining your humanity while living under an authoritarian regime. In the classroom, his teacher rules with an iron fist while at home, nobody can seem to hear his voice. Despite the circumstances, he reverts to basic human kindness in order to help his friend, who has been threatened with expulsion, ignoring the negative influences that are attempting to shape his character. Effectively shot in a neo-realist style, it is a touching story of compassion, duty, and friendship. Where is the Friend’s House? may be Kiarostami’s finest effort, which is saying something.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
10/29/24
Full Review
Yuvraj C
Abbas Kiarostami's Where is the Friend's house? is simple and deceptive film. it tells simple story of Ahmed seeks the journey of returning friend's notebook which he mistakenly brought home. He is searching his friend Mohammed Reza's home to save him from expulsion as the earlier in the classroom teacher has warned Mohammed Reza for not doing homework in notebook.
Abbas Kiarostami tells this simple story in poetic manner but he he deceptively shows the authoritarian nature of the Iranian society where young people must obey things said by an elderly people followed in certain manner.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/25/23
Full Review
G' melos D
No podemos creer que tenga una calificación tan alta... La historia es lenta y aburrida, desarrollandose a ese mismo paso, con personajes con diálogos eternos y que no aportan nada de nada, el protagonista puede llegar a ser muy fastidioso con el mismo dialoguito de siempre, y el final es lo más anticlimático y monótono que pueda haber.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
05/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
No, this is not part of the DC Universe, it's probably the furthest you could possibly get from that world actually. Abbas Kiarostami's film is the first in the so called 'Koker Trilogy'; a coining that had no influence from Kiarostami himself. The friend of the title is a young boy, Mohamed, who in the opening scene is scolded by his schoolteacher for forgetting his homework book (he left it at his cousins house who is also in the class and returns it to him). However, Ahmed, who the story focuses on and who sits beside Mohamed, mixes up their homework books at the end of the day, only realising when he arrives home. Knowing that Mohamed is under threat of expulsion if he doesn't complete his homework in the book, Ahmed takes it upon himself to return the book, despite Mohamed living in a neighbouring village he isn't familiar with, being helped and hindered on the way by various locals. I was lucky enough to track down a recent blu-ray restoration of the trilogy, and the opening film is a sumptuous visual treat, offering a fascinating cultural insight into the the village life of the Iranian region. The storyline is as simple as it sounds, but that's not what what the viewer is here for. The beautiful Persian dialogue, so naturally delivered by the cast, makes for a gorgeously simple tale of morality, cultural authority, and innocence. I'm hugely excited to watch the remaining films in the trilogy.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Beautiful use of music, minimal dialogues, simplicity at the best is what I can say about this film. Can see a master filmmaker in making with this first installment in Koker series.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
raphael g
Honestly, I found it a tad too dull and couldn't finish it. Nice colors and textures, but I am perhaps coming to the realization that Kiarostami can be a bit too dull without creating atmosphere or enough interesting depth in his movies. I'll of course watch more of them, but this is the third, and so far only The wind will carry us has really had some moments.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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