The relatively few Iranian films I've seen have all, more or less, been an attempt to address gender relations in Iran, and put forth ideas for more forward-thinking views of women's rights. So it was a surprise that this movie was not about that at all, instead tackling ideas about class stratification in Iran, and the resentment that builds among lower classes due to their poor treatment.
I will go right out on a limb now and say that Abbas Kiarostami still confounds me. While he technically didn't direct this, he did write it. And despite Panahi's usual human, involved, directorial work, it was difficult for me to parse in a way that neither The Accordion nor Offside were. Kiarostami is like the cinematic equivalent to physics, for me. At this point in my life, I just don't have the knowledge base and tools to properly comprehend the information he's trying to give me. I could make some of it out, and the main actor, Hossain Emadeddin, gives a frankly astounding performance, eliciting a world of emotions with small, reluctant gestures. Two sequences stand out immediately for the typically Panahi-like warmth and poignance -- sequences so memorable and effective in their simple pleasures that it makes me want to revisit the movie immediately, as I only understood their effect on me later on, as I thought about it. This is a stark contrast to Offside and The Accordion, two movies so upfront and raw about their emotions as to verge on sentiment, but never quite spill over into it.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, sadly, I don't have much to say about this movie. I enjoyed it a lot, and the emotions still resonate with me when I think about it almost two weeks later, but as for higher understanding you will have to seek someone with a better knowledge base.
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