Iran
A boy accidentally takes a freinds schoolbook home and homework has to be done for the morning, so he must return it so his pal doesn't get a rollicking from their strict teacher. And nothing else really happens. But it's the minimalist nature of this film that makes it so absorbing. I took great comfort and delight last night whilst sitting with my feet up, hot chocolate in hand, watching as the camera painstakingly follows every movement of Ahmed (the boy) as he feeds and rocks a baby sibling as he attempts to explain to his mum several times that he must go and return the book to his friend, but like all the adults here, she's not listening and mutters, "No you can't go out. Finish your homework. Rock the baby", and the camera lingers on her as she thoroughly washes some clothes in a sink and wrings them out firmly as dogs bark and horseshoes clutter in the background of this gorgeous pastoral town of washed out white slums walls. It's very much from a kids perspective as we feel their frustration at the condescending, simple minded adults. There's a quite commaraderie among the children of the town and this is caught in a nice scene outside the school as a kid hurts his knee and is lead to a hose by his friend who tenderly rubs the water onto his leg, without a single word between them. The cast are not trained actors and you feel a warmth and humanity in their conversations, even when the adults speak to each other. There's a realism there that makes you care about the mundane happenings in their lives.
One of the best moments is when the boy sees his mother distracted and seizing the moment he's been waiting so long for, he grabs the schoolbook and makes a dash . . . only to realise his picked up the wrong book again and cautiously returns for the right one. Ahmed finally meets someone who's willing to listen to him, a nice old man who speaks of the windows he once fitted around the town which are now being replaced and of the family that have left him for the city. It's charming stuff and the boy listens respectably.
The biggest star of the film for me was Iran itself, my foreign eyes getting a rare glimpse into this world. The town of Koker looks like some beautiful medieval labyrinth of alleys, stairwells and underpasses that, as night approaches and a strong wind gathers, becomes quite a creepy place. Ahmed doesn't return the book in the end as he became too frightened. But he completes his friends homework himself and what we are left with is a simple, charming tale of friendship.
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