Dave S
While it may not be as emotionally engaging as the first two films in Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker Trilogy, Through the Olive Trees may be richer thematically. The concept is interesting – a director, a semi-fictionalized version of Kiarostami, is on location in earthquake-ravaged northern Iran shooting a film called And Life Goes On, the second movie in the trilogy. However, problems arise when two actors have difficulty executing their scenes due to an existing relationship in real life. It is a film about the blurred line between art and reality, how interpersonal relationships are impacted by socioeconomic issues, and the process of moviemaking. It’s strongly recommended to see the first two films in the trilogy to fully grasp Through the Olive Trees and its commentary on human resilience in the face of tragedy. Beautifully executed throughout, events culminate in a beautiful final shot that will resonate long after the film ends.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
10/30/24
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William L
Kiarostami's distinct combination of meta-filmmaking and humanism brought to a sharpened point, featuring all of his distinct filmmaking tools: repetition, blurring of the lines between fiction and reality, and life imitating art. A fantastic piece of work that sees the director take aim at a classic romantic formula (man pursuing woman with societal restrictions) with a distinctly Iranian identity and told in the master's unique style, in complement to his previous works on the purity of childhood innocence and the resilience of those facing disaster. The film is an exercise in restraint, repetition, and finding significance in the cumulative effect of small moments rather than overwrought bursts of emotion. Beautifully shot and vividly colorful, lest we forget that Kiarostami's auteur-level control over narrative development and scene design were his only strengths. It's difficult to justify placing this film in the 1001 Movies without including the other two entries in the Koker Trilogy; without them, the film isn't nearly as complete of an experience. After three feature films' worth of people and vehicles climbing hills using distinctively Z-shaped paths, watching Hossein abandon that convention after his dogged pursuit of Tahereh is a sublime experience. (5/5)
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/04/21
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Audience Member
Thematically, Through the Olive Trees is undeniably rich. As a film in and of itself however, it's moderately flimsy. Of the three films included in this so-called Koker Trilogy, this is the one that stands alone the least successfully. Although technically one needs to see the two films that directly envelope it, much of the richness of the story, if taken out of context, would be reduced to the tale of a poor young non-actor trying to get the girl while making a movie. As compelling as Through the Olive Trees can be in Kiarosami's, that's the film's take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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S R
1001 movies to see before you die. Artsy and tedious, but in an Iranian way. It was on CRI.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
07/22/23
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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
The master's meta-film technique has just been perfected, culminating in arguably the best installment of the "Koker Trilogy", and despite that the levels of reality and meta-reality can be officially defined, their interconnected coexistence has become now even more mind-puzzling and allow for several interpretations. Still, the message remains the same: the degree of interchangeableness between cinematic reality and this thing we called "life" goes beyond our scope of things:
+ <b>Level 1: <i>Where is the Friend's Home?</i>.-</b> "Follow your characters", dictates Kiarostami's celluloid philosophy.
+ <b>Level 2: <i>And Life Goes On...</i>.-</b> Reality and fiction have a passionate affair in a metafilm context; Kiarostami's trademark visual style is born.
+ <b>Level 3: <i>Through the Olive Trees</i>.-</b> A masterfully directed humanist drama; the finished film that we see. This movie nudes the actual fiction of the meta-reality of the meta-reality that created a fiction in 1987.
+ <b>Level 4: Mohamad Ali Keshavarz.-</b>The introduction leaves clear that Mohamad Ali Keshavarz is playing the director of this film. For the very first time, we are introduced with some factual piece of information about what really <b>is</b>: "What you're about to see is ALSO a film!" What a way to open!
+ <b>Level 5: And yet, everything is a film.-</b> We do know who is behind the camera, orchestrating a trilogy of metafilmic interconnections trying to reflect on the beauty of life and how both coexist in a realm that we can and simultaneously cannot perceive with the senses. Kiarostami is the true master, performing an "inception" in our perceptions. According to Level 2, Level 1 had been directed by Farhadi. Level 3 fictionalizes the n- longer-meta-reality of Level 2. So, according to Level 3, who really directed Level 1? Farhadi, who is seen as a hired actor in Level 3, or Kiarostami?
Kill some neurons while you're at it.
Cinema is an art form that imitates life, but art has reflected our conditions, affairs, traits, tendencies, romances (this film's main case), families and tragedies so well, that we tend to imitate cinema as well. We imitate the imitator by excellence: cinema. What a paradox!! Our imitator is the best imitator of the authentic thing (life); we will never match its imitation! Or will we? Perhaps embarking into several layers of imitation and depiction of fictional and factual realities will, somehow, bring us back to the authentic thing, therefore coming back to life.
For the record, this has one of the best endings in Iranian cinema.
97/100
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
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