Through the Olive Trees Movie Review

Mohamad Ali Keshavarz tells us that he is really an actor playing a movie director and everyone else in the picture is an amateur. Mrs. Shivah is his assistant director and she wants everything to be just right. Taherek the star (Taherek Ladanian) won't address lines to Hossein (Hossein Rezai) because she turned down his marriage proposal. He confides in the director who changes the script. Taherek still won't talk to Hossein. Obligingly, the director changes the script again. This is part of a trilogy, but you don't need to see Where Is My Friend's Home? or And Life Goes On to appreciate Abbas Kiarostami's ingenious concept here and its thoughtful execution. AKA: Under the Olive Trees; Zire Darakhtan Zeyton.

1994 (G) 104m/C Zarifeh Shivah, Hossein Rezai, Mohamad Ali Keshavarz, Taherek Ladania; D: Abbas Kiarostami; W: Abbas Kiarostami; C: Hossein Jafarian, Farhad Saba. Nominations: Independent Spirit Awards ‘96: Best Foreign Film. VHS