Karen Smith9 said:Even after all this time, I still find Kiarostami to be my absolute favorite when it comes to Iranian cinema—nothing else quite touches him.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120265/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1a
Of course, there are plenty of other incredible films out there—especially those gems from the 90s—but he just stays at the top for me.
I don't think I could ever bring myself to watch that again—not after barely being able to stomach *Certified Copies*. It kind of cooled my feelings toward him, I guess. Still, his film *Ten* was absolutely brilliant. It’s only just a tiny bit less precious to me than *Paradise*, which, in my humble opinion, is probably the best Iranian film from the last twenty years—well, at least among the ones I've actually sat through.
Take Shelter is a really solid achievement, I suppose. It’s just that maybe people went a little overboard with all the praise and attention it received? I don't know, it felt a bit much. It reminds me of Haneke’s brand of boredom, like Amour. Don't get me wrong, it's directed quite well, but it was still just... boring.
It honestly cracks me up how people handle those absolutely insufferable movies. They just sit there, fidgeting and squirming through the whole thing, only to come out the other side saying stuff like, "I mean, it’s a bit slow, but there’s just something about it... it’s such a profound film." And then you have the critics! They don't even bother with that kind of nuance; they just preemptively justify the runtime and the almost unbearable levels of boredom before anyone has even hit play. I guess that's just how it goes, maybe.
Well, I suppose you can take as many examples as your heart desires. There's an endless list, really. You have the absolute classics like Kubrick's *A Clockwork Orange*, *Odyssey*, and *Barry Lyndon*. Then there’s Bergman with *The Seventh Seal* and *Through the Looking Glass*. I guess we should mention Lynch and his *Mulholland Drive*, or maybe Nolan's *Enter the Void*. Oh, and then there's that suffocating film *Take Shelter*—which, honestly, features such a brilliant male lead. Then you've got Nolan again with *Memento* and *Prestige*, plus *Inception*. We can't forget the Coen brothers' *Barton Fink*, or those wild Kaufman trips like *Being John Malkovich* and *Synecdoche, New York*. And where does it end? Fincher gave us *Fight Club*, *Benjamin Button*, and *The Social Network*. Then there's Scorsese with *The Aviator*, *Bringing Out the Dead*, *Kundun*, and even *Taxi Driver*. I won't even get started on... what's it called? *King of New York*, I think. Anyway, you see my point.
Then, you have Clooney's directorial efforts. I suppose you could give a little bit of leeway to "Good Night, and Good Luck" in that regard, maybe.
So, we have these new Oscar nominees on the table now—names like Amour, The Drifter (which, let’s be honest, just has one great, memorable song and that’s about it), and Lincoln. It makes me think of all those other heavy hitters like Lost in Translation, Somewhere, Midnight in Paris, or Syriana. Even looking back at things like Elephant, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Titanic, Pride and Prejudice, or Capote... it's a lot to process. And honestly, since we're talking about Haneke, I don't find Caché to be much more interesting than the rest, I guess. Maybe it's just me.
Well, I guess I ended up venting about everything, even though I actually started off talking about Iranian Cinema. There's just something about those films—they're truly blessed. It’s rare for them to fall into any kind of stupidity. I remember watching this incredibly tedious movie a few years back at Central Park about a teenage addict and her mother struggling to cope... it was just a slog. But the Romanians? They have a similar approach. They tackle social issues and they definitely take their time, but I don't find the pacing tiresome. Most of the time, they handle the narrative so intelligently and deliver a final point that feels subtle, yet incredibly powerful.