Word: panahi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...great national cinema. Not since the Czech New Wave of the mid-'60s has a country made such a lovely noise at the big festivals and in Western capitals where the term foreign film doesn't evoke a yawn. Directors Abbas Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry), Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon) and Samira's father Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Gabbeh) are as revered in the world film community as they are anonymous at American 'plexes...
Children's stories are often tales of desperate travels through far-off lands. In Iranian films, the terrain is typically the child's own hometown. And the potential tragedy can be as simple as being left alone at school, as in Panahi's deliciously devious The Mirror. Or, as in Children of Heaven, the loss of your sister's shoes...
...Jafar Panahi's The White Balloon, a fable of a five-year-old trying to retrieve lost money, was an art-house hit. Panahi's superb new film sends another little girl (Mina Mohammad Khani) on a quest through the streets of Tehran: her mother has not come to pick her up after school, so she figures she'll get home on her own. Mina has star quality to burn. Turns out she also has a star's attitude. Halfway through, she shouts, "I'm not acting anymore!" and storms off. The Mirror, broken in two, now becomes a little...
...film is brilliantly acted, with such simplicity that it is hard to imagine that he people on the screen are actors. In fact, in order to preserve the genuineness of the acting and to add real emotion and suspense, director Jafar Panahi would not allow the actors to read the full script before shooting. Adding to the film's documentary-like quality is the fact that it was filmed within a span of a few hours on location in Tehran on New Year...
...What Panahi does best is to communicate the charming simplicity of daily life in Iran. Throughout the film, Razieh is aided by a series of strangers, all of whom want her to succeed in her quest; the film values the honesty and goondess of ordinary people. "The White Balloon" is not just another foreign film; it is a new kind of film altogether, one that values a simple plot, fresh, genuine actors, and an honest style...