WHERE IS MY FRIEND'S HOME is a bittersweet, subtle film about a simple mix-up. When young Ahmed discovers he has taken his best friend Nematzedeh's notebook, he's determined to get it back to him, as the young boy is dangerously close to expulsion and can no longer risk their teacher's wrath. He sets out for his friend's neighboring town only to discover finding him amongst the winding, steep streets is no easy task.
In line with Kiarostami's body of work, he never feels the need to spell out plot points, characters' feelings, or the atmosphere of a scene through heavy dialogue. For example, the moment when Ahmed realizes he has Nematzedeh's notebook, we only see him remove his notebook...and then a second identical one. His shock is enough, we don't need to HEAR it's his friend's notebook. We can see it register on his face immediately. Also characteristic of his style, WIMFH pays special attention to the feelings of children, and the injustice of the adult world. And as usual, Kiarostami pulls a wonderful, naturalistic performances from all his child actors.
The L.A. County Museum of Art is currently holding a retrospective of Kiarostami's work, and this film by far is one of my favorites of his work. The quiet climax of this film is so simple and joyous that there was an audible gasp in the theater, a gasp of refreshing delight. Kiarostami may be hard going for the average movie fan, but I believe the rewards of a film like this are too great to pass this by for cinefiles of foreign film.
In line with Kiarostami's body of work, he never feels the need to spell out plot points, characters' feelings, or the atmosphere of a scene through heavy dialogue. For example, the moment when Ahmed realizes he has Nematzedeh's notebook, we only see him remove his notebook...and then a second identical one. His shock is enough, we don't need to HEAR it's his friend's notebook. We can see it register on his face immediately. Also characteristic of his style, WIMFH pays special attention to the feelings of children, and the injustice of the adult world. And as usual, Kiarostami pulls a wonderful, naturalistic performances from all his child actors.
The L.A. County Museum of Art is currently holding a retrospective of Kiarostami's work, and this film by far is one of my favorites of his work. The quiet climax of this film is so simple and joyous that there was an audible gasp in the theater, a gasp of refreshing delight. Kiarostami may be hard going for the average movie fan, but I believe the rewards of a film like this are too great to pass this by for cinefiles of foreign film.