Through the Olive Trees
1994
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
It's actually snowing today (today meaning April 9th, not necessarily when this post goes up). I am relieved I don't have to leave the house today so I don't have to engage in small talk about how crazy the weather is. And also so I don't have to drive on icy roads and die in a horrific car crash. But mostly the small talk thing. Anyway, I thought this was a good day to drink hot chocolate in bed and try to make sense of Through the Olive Trees.
An actor falls in love with the leading lady of the film he is working on, but she refuses to speak to him, as her family does not approve of the match. This whole premise begs the question: if a woman never even talks to you, how do you know you are in love with her? How about for my benefit, nobody answers that question.
I didn't mind this film that much. It was a little slow and my subtitles were off, but the beautiful landscape shots kept my interest. My only real complaint is the ambiguous ending. Let me get on my high horse briefly to discuss this. As a writer, I don't really approve of the "lacking of ending" ending. In my writing classes in college, people would try to pull this off constantly. Nine times out of ten, it was because they couldn't think of one themselves, so they changed their own decent story into one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. It just seems lazy. I think there is a way to leave elements of your conclusion to the audience's imagination in a less clumsy way. Anyway, I will dismount now, as this position is hurting my crotch region.
In any case, not as good as Close-up but still worth a watch.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
First movie where Kiarostami used a professional actor.
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