Taste of Cherry (1997)
I think this movie is best watched without any prior knowledge. Even the little description here on Letterboxd made the start a little less impactful for me than I think it could have been. But nothing can take away what it has to offer.
The style is very minimal, mostly shot from inside a car and the outside shots are mainly in a huge gravel pit. Everything is revealed through carefully worded dialogues (and monologues) with the assisting of simple and effective pictures. Given the subject matter, this is a very personal film that relies heavily on subtle acting which Homayoun Ershadi handles beautifully well. We know nothing of his background or his reasoning for his ultimate goal in this movie, but the moral questions it raises has enough for the viewer to be engaged.
The barren and otherwise uninteresting location of a huge gravel pit may seem odd at first, but it ties very well together with the overall theme and the wish for the protagonist. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the backdrop of this story is within the production lines for cement and a city under heavy construction. But no clear answers are given and I am still very confused what my thoughts are about the ending - since it made me questions basically everything I thought I could take away from this movie up until the last two minutes.
Rating: 4