Dave S
In And Life Goes On, the second instalment in Abbas Kiarostami’s renowned Koker Trilogy, an Iranian director (not named, but it’s clearly Kiarostami, played by Farhad Kheradmand) and his young son travel to Koker after a horrific earthquake to check on the status of his two young actors from Where is the Friend’s House, which was shot in the Koker area. Beautifully shot, directed, scored, and acted, And Life Goes On is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. In the face of unimaginable tragedy, the people of the region continue with their lives as they speak of weddings, seek out a way of watching the World Cup, and carry on with their daily routines amidst the rubble. As devasting as many of the scenes are, it ultimately leaves the viewer with a feeling of joy and optimism.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
10/29/24
Full Review
William L
A play on Kiarostami's previous film Where is the Friend's Home, Life, and Nothing More operates as a more meta film; where its predecessor was a pure cinematic experience that emulated neorealist classics, this follow-up is more focused on the practice of filmmaking itself (as well as watching films), including the interpretation of reality, how it transfers to screen or is dramatized, and how viewers will interpret it. Built around the premise that life imitates art, the film seeks to expand upon its roots (treated in-universe as fictitious) by creating explicit parallels to the 'reality' of the events of Life, and Nothing More. While one of those parallels is repition of small-scale events in pursuit of a greater significance (the ignored Ahmed in the original, the lost director in the sequel), parts of this structure seem to stick out in this second entry; the depiction of the resilience and uplifted spirits of the Iranian people in the wake of tragedy is done to death, and actually starts to take away from its message as the film proceeds ("we lost 65 relatives, so we decided to get married"). There is still an underlying understanding of collaboration and mutual support that is admirable and often touching, but I can't help but feel that this film loses a bit of the poetic structure that made the original so beloved. More zigzag pathways to provide deliberate references to the predecessor film than you can shake a stick at! (4/5)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/04/21
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Audience Member
Much of the beginning of the film is simply watching the world pass by out of a car window. Left to right, left to right, left to right… in time, the stubborn search takes them literally off the beaten path and onto the omnisciently viewed zigzagging dirt pathways that would become a Kiarostami visual signature.
As the driver heads into the scene of the recent major earthquake, scores of aid workers and volunteers are seen clearing rubble and attempting to help those in need. (View from the car window is an unbroken master shot of the flurry of activity. Not one body is static as we move passed the desperate scene of crumpled structures and multilayered destruction.
And then, the first obvious bit of Kiarostami's conceptual onion skinning makes itself apparent. In this movie, the other movie is a movie. Eventually, we learn that the driver is a film director and the boy is of course his son. The "film director" is actually carrying with him a small French poster of Where is the Friends House?, displaying a large picture of its youthful star. He shows it several villagers along the way, asking if they've seen the boy. In this film, this man, not Kiarostami directed Where is the Friends House?. Everyone is familiar with the film, referencing the shoot itself. Some even recall having been in the film as an extra. Now though, the director is just another desperate guy in a car looking for someone.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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Audience Member
Excellent film. Highly recommended. Must watch.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
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Audience Member
Delightfully and essentially Kiarostami ...
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
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Audience Member
<i>Life, and Nothing More</i>, more properly titled also as <i>And Life Goes On...</i> takes place in the aftermath of the earthquake of Guilan that killed more than 50,000 people. This place happens to be near the location of <i>Where is the Friend's Home?</i> (1990). Therefore, the director of this movie decides to travel to this area with the purpose of finding out the fate of the two key characters in the Iranian modern classic.
But... The director of that movie was Abbas Kiarostami, wasn't he? Well, not according to this film!!
The importance of this movie in particular is extremely massive because of too many reasons to be counted... and yet, there I go.
a) It represents the turning point in Kiarostami's vision, as his visual style of compelling landscapes and in-car conversations begin to shape the auteur vision of the internationally acclaimed Iranian master. This style will be evident in the impressionistic existentialism of <i>Taste of Cherry</i> (1997), and in the psychological poetry of <i>The Wind Will Carry Us</i> (1999).
b) It is the first attempt by Kiarostami to take his meta-film concept to a whole other level. Being the second installment in the Koker trilogy, which refers to the town of Koker in which the protagonist of <i>Where is the Friend's Home</i> lived, you will notice that this wasn't filmed in immediate continuity after the first movie, but <i>Through the Olive Trees</i> (1994) was. In my personal opinion, the documentary <i>Homework</i> (1989) and <i>Close-Up</i> (1990), his absolutely groundbreaking and endlessly brilliant masterpiece, were the neccesary stepping stones for finally merging, for the very first time, the concepts of reality in documentaries and fiction in movies perfectly for the very first time.
c) He is playing with the concepts of reality and fantasy.... Oh boy, here I go with my Levels dissection technique of reality and meta-reality again! Boring, I know:
+ <b>Level 1: <i>Where is the Friend's Home?</i>.-</b> Back in 1987, the whole world saw a minimalist movie of heart-moving, humble and tender proportions. It was the first significant movie of the master by that time. By this time, the only levels in existence was this one, and Level 2, which referred to Kiarostami breaking the movie. Yet <i>And Life Goes On...</i> dared to break the second level from a meta-reality perception.
+ <b>Level 2: <i>And Life Goes On...</i>.-</b> Finding the protagonist of the previous movie and dissecting Kiarostami's psychology through his alter ego Farhad Kheradmand are the most genius achievements of this thought-provoking and visually hypnotizing spectacle. To what extent is the film documented? To what extent is the film scripted? To what extent does the protagonist reflect Kiarostami?
These answers can be obtained with some factual research and interviews, but not essentially obtainable within this film realm, and yet, despite its tragic aftermath imagery and inert rocky settings with some astonishing green hills, the film seems dead in the surface and yet emanates a substantial amount of life that is capable of rejuvenating the film appreciation of the modern viewer, so long submerged in Hollywood standards. The landscapes are a contradiction of destruction and beauty, like an impossible coexistence. Is it possible, then, for reality and fantasy to coexist? It turns out that both, in fact, share a scary degree of interchangeableness, which is the main idea of the film.
And yet, that idea is communicated through a film, not a documentary. What a fascinating, self-assuring paradox!
96/100
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
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