36 reviews
Yes, it's a gimmick: the entire film is shot from the dashboard of a car, and only the driver and the passenger are heard and (sometimes) seen. This gimmick will not please everyone, and hardly qualifies the film as a masterpiece. But Hitchcock's brilliant "Rear Window" was a gimmick too, and Kiarostami's "10" is no less worthy of attention. A movie has to be done well, regardless of its tricks, and "10" fits the bill. The driver of the car also drives the conflict; she is a recently divorced Iranian woman in a country in which women barely have the right to divorce at all. As the city rushes past--it's great fun to watch the people and places outside--she curses the drivers and pedestrians along the way but holds her own against the crises in the passenger's seat. Funny thing about a car: it gives one the sense of control (here, that's clearly an illusion) and the oxymoronic ability to remain private even while out in public. She and her women passengers air their grievances within this zone of safety; a scene in which a passenger slowly removes her head covering, a symbol of repression, is moving and unsettling. The greatest conflict, however, is between the driver and her young son, who's bitter about the divorce and lets his mother unravel until he, not she, controls where the car is heading. The boy's performance is astonishingly real, as much for the way he fills the silences as for his sharp and sometimes humorous counterpoints. The film could have done without the "countdown" of the 10 conversations--the source of the title--but no matter: everything in between is a delight.
8 out of 10
8 out of 10
"Ten" really impressed me for many reasons. The first one is the interpretation of the non-professional actresses and the boy Amin Maher. It is simply amazing the first sequence (number 10) with fifteen minutes of dialogs between the lead character and her son without any cut. The second reason is the intense and impressive insight in the repressed women's world in Iran. I believe that most of the Westerns have no idea about the feelings and the culture of Iranian women, and Abbas Kiarostami shows very real dialogs picturing the lifestyle of a middle class woman and some samples in other women of different classes (the prostitute, the religious woman etc.). The third reason was the simplicity and the originality of the location: inside a car, with a divorced woman transporting her resented son; her sister; a prostitute; an old lady; and a romantic young woman, along different days. I would never imagine such a splendid scenario for a movie with such a theme. Last but not the least, the remarkable beauty of the face of the driver (Mania Akbari) is awesome: she is exotic for Brazilian standards, but really a very beautiful woman. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "10 Dez" ("10 Ten")
Title (Brazil): "10 Dez" ("10 Ten")
- claudio_carvalho
- Dec 18, 2005
- Permalink
This is a subtle story. The central character is a divorced woman in post-revolutionary Iran. Her recurrent argument is with her young son, angry about his parents' divorce. She is torn between her son and her desire for independence. The other characters, representing women at different stages of life, carry on the argument with the driver about women's role in society. This basic story is universal. The setting in the Islamic Republic adds to the conflict. The varieties of piety the women show is especially rich.
Most of the actors are not professionals, and much of the story is improvised. Part of the reason for telling the story so indirectly may be to work around Iranian censors. There are some surprisingly slow moments -- long shots watching a passenger wait for the driver to come back. Still, I think it works.
Most of the actors are not professionals, and much of the story is improvised. Part of the reason for telling the story so indirectly may be to work around Iranian censors. There are some surprisingly slow moments -- long shots watching a passenger wait for the driver to come back. Still, I think it works.
- howard.schumann
- Oct 13, 2002
- Permalink
The front-page review of this film simply doesn't do this marvelous film justice. Renowned Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami takes an innovative approach at giving us a very deep glimpse not only into the life of mother and child, but also into Iran, its society and the situation of women transitioning to a more assertive role in society (however, I don't think one should be confused that the issues women face in Iran are not relevant to women elsewhere in the world, including the West).
The film has two fixed camera angles, one giving us a view of the driver-side and the other a view of the passenger side of an automobile. The driver is a mother who has left her husband and now resides with her new lover (she is the common thread in all ten "episodes"). Each sequence places a different person in the passenger seat, with particular emphasis on her son (who rides in four of the 10 scenes, if I'm not mistaken).
It is this mother-son relationship that is at the crux of the film, and for good reason. The performances of these two characters was nothing short of amazing. The boy in particular, with every eye-twitch, frown, smile, and outburst was able to convey a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a boy who is all at once obstinate, angry, disrespectful, and immature, yet still sweet and somewhat an innocent victim of the situation. He is unforgiving to his mother for walking out on him and "breaking up the family" and is reluctant to accept any explanation his mother offers. They trade barbs and though the love is there, you can see the seeds already planted in the young adolescent of a society that subordinates women to their male partners. Here, it is so profound that even a pre-teen lectures his mother on right and wrong.
The mother bounces back and forth between defending herself to accepting blame, showing the cracks of guilt that clearly lie beneath her composed and beautiful surface. And it's a beauty that her son can't recognize: she's a sexy passionate woman with needs of not just a mother but also as a lover and a liver; but like all children he can only see her as an adult and a mother.
The other key character involves a friend who desperately seeks a life partner, but finds herself unsuccessful at every turn. Most recently, a man she has been seeing tells her that he cannot marry her because he does not love her. She coyly reveals from under her veil that in her grief she has shaved her head completely. This act is astonishing not because it is defiant but because it is terribly charming. She can't offer an explanation as to why she has done it, but no explanation is necessary. Who hasn't at some time when an ego has been made fragile by rejection, sought to change hair, clothing, face, self? And it is with this scene, with veil pulled back, that the woman's beauty is uncovered, not because we see her hair or her bald head, but because of the insight the shaving act gives to her character, and her innocent embarrassment brings a smile to her tear-stained face that lights up the screen.
I give the film a 9 and not a 10 because of one sequence involving a conversation with a prostitute in the passenger seat. Presumably the driver has given a ride to hitch-hiker, leading to an intelligent conversation/debate about the world's oldest profession. But this scene seemed a little out-of-place, contrived, and added little to the more general theme of the rest of the film. This one slip-up notwithstanding, "Ten" is a creative and wonderful experience for film lovers who seek something out of the ordinary. And it has a final scene which punctuates the film perfectly.
The film has two fixed camera angles, one giving us a view of the driver-side and the other a view of the passenger side of an automobile. The driver is a mother who has left her husband and now resides with her new lover (she is the common thread in all ten "episodes"). Each sequence places a different person in the passenger seat, with particular emphasis on her son (who rides in four of the 10 scenes, if I'm not mistaken).
It is this mother-son relationship that is at the crux of the film, and for good reason. The performances of these two characters was nothing short of amazing. The boy in particular, with every eye-twitch, frown, smile, and outburst was able to convey a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a boy who is all at once obstinate, angry, disrespectful, and immature, yet still sweet and somewhat an innocent victim of the situation. He is unforgiving to his mother for walking out on him and "breaking up the family" and is reluctant to accept any explanation his mother offers. They trade barbs and though the love is there, you can see the seeds already planted in the young adolescent of a society that subordinates women to their male partners. Here, it is so profound that even a pre-teen lectures his mother on right and wrong.
The mother bounces back and forth between defending herself to accepting blame, showing the cracks of guilt that clearly lie beneath her composed and beautiful surface. And it's a beauty that her son can't recognize: she's a sexy passionate woman with needs of not just a mother but also as a lover and a liver; but like all children he can only see her as an adult and a mother.
The other key character involves a friend who desperately seeks a life partner, but finds herself unsuccessful at every turn. Most recently, a man she has been seeing tells her that he cannot marry her because he does not love her. She coyly reveals from under her veil that in her grief she has shaved her head completely. This act is astonishing not because it is defiant but because it is terribly charming. She can't offer an explanation as to why she has done it, but no explanation is necessary. Who hasn't at some time when an ego has been made fragile by rejection, sought to change hair, clothing, face, self? And it is with this scene, with veil pulled back, that the woman's beauty is uncovered, not because we see her hair or her bald head, but because of the insight the shaving act gives to her character, and her innocent embarrassment brings a smile to her tear-stained face that lights up the screen.
I give the film a 9 and not a 10 because of one sequence involving a conversation with a prostitute in the passenger seat. Presumably the driver has given a ride to hitch-hiker, leading to an intelligent conversation/debate about the world's oldest profession. But this scene seemed a little out-of-place, contrived, and added little to the more general theme of the rest of the film. This one slip-up notwithstanding, "Ten" is a creative and wonderful experience for film lovers who seek something out of the ordinary. And it has a final scene which punctuates the film perfectly.
My experience with Iranian film is pretty superficial having only seen a handful, but none have disappointed me. I saw Kiarostami's early film Where Does The Friend Live? and was completely blown away. I then saw Saalam Cinema by Iran's other giant Mohsen Makhmalbaf - and then I realised just how important this country's output has been.
Ten did nothing to diminish this view, and I'll try not to repeat much of what's already been said here. I saw an Iranian person on this site claim that there was too much lost in the translation from Farsi to English. This is always the case with translation, but I am quite sure Ten gets away with it. I recently saw Ingmar Bergman's Saraband and if you think language being stilted ruins a movie then I am sure seeing that film will shatter the view. The single thing that destroys it in both cases is the incredible power of the acting - the truth lies in their facial expression. I am quite sure 9 out of 10 people asked without context would swear blind Ten was a documentary.
In the western world overrun by "reality" TV, its significance is lost on some, but if you take the time to realise that these people are actually acting - and more than likely doing it for the first time - thats where the power lies. Try taking this film, put it in America and put Hollywood A-Listers in the car and see where it goes. Basically, how you could call both what they do and what happens in this film acting is opened to debate. This is true of the majority of Iranian output.
Ten would be significant for these reasons alone, but when you take into account how much insight you gain into the life of a woman in there who tries to say no to male domination and to "love herself" it really comes into its own. This is the case of much of this countries output - and what sets is far apart from other countries. What we learn ultimately is this struggle, though perhaps more explicit in Iran, is a struggle felt by all women in the world. It's a film which in that way unites rather than divides which in light of Iran's current status in global affairs is what probably what makes it one of the more important Cinema's in the world.
Ten did nothing to diminish this view, and I'll try not to repeat much of what's already been said here. I saw an Iranian person on this site claim that there was too much lost in the translation from Farsi to English. This is always the case with translation, but I am quite sure Ten gets away with it. I recently saw Ingmar Bergman's Saraband and if you think language being stilted ruins a movie then I am sure seeing that film will shatter the view. The single thing that destroys it in both cases is the incredible power of the acting - the truth lies in their facial expression. I am quite sure 9 out of 10 people asked without context would swear blind Ten was a documentary.
In the western world overrun by "reality" TV, its significance is lost on some, but if you take the time to realise that these people are actually acting - and more than likely doing it for the first time - thats where the power lies. Try taking this film, put it in America and put Hollywood A-Listers in the car and see where it goes. Basically, how you could call both what they do and what happens in this film acting is opened to debate. This is true of the majority of Iranian output.
Ten would be significant for these reasons alone, but when you take into account how much insight you gain into the life of a woman in there who tries to say no to male domination and to "love herself" it really comes into its own. This is the case of much of this countries output - and what sets is far apart from other countries. What we learn ultimately is this struggle, though perhaps more explicit in Iran, is a struggle felt by all women in the world. It's a film which in that way unites rather than divides which in light of Iran's current status in global affairs is what probably what makes it one of the more important Cinema's in the world.
- gareth_john_nolan
- Jan 11, 2006
- Permalink
Evidently, this was the film that gave the idea to director Jafar Panahi to make his film "Taxi" (2015). Kiarostami has made the better film of the two, discussing social issues in contemporary Iran, while Panahi's film deals with both social and political issues, with the latter being more predominant.
The child actor (Amin Maher) and the lead actress (Mania Akbari) are both commendable in their roles in "Ten". A trivia: in real life they are mother and son. Kiarostami has possibly worked further on his debut short film "The Bread and Alley" (1970) and picked up further clues on handling child actors in Iran from Amir Naderi ("The Runner," 1985).
The child actor (Amin Maher) and the lead actress (Mania Akbari) are both commendable in their roles in "Ten". A trivia: in real life they are mother and son. Kiarostami has possibly worked further on his debut short film "The Bread and Alley" (1970) and picked up further clues on handling child actors in Iran from Amir Naderi ("The Runner," 1985).
- JuguAbraham
- Jul 12, 2017
- Permalink
The premise is very simple. A beautiful Iranian woman, married to her second husband (in a society that makes divorce nearly impossible for women to obtain) drives her car around town. She takes her son to a swim meet, goes shopping with her sister, gives an old woman a lift to Prayer, etc. The title of the film refers to the fact that there are 10 "chapters" to the film, each representing a different conversation she has with her various passengers on different days. By experiencing these exchanges, the viewer can expect a crash course on middle class life in Iran. Like middle class life anywhere, there are the written rules and conventions that one must obey, and then there are the practicalities, and the REalities. There is what is true, and what people tell themselves is true; what they want, and what they tell themselves they want. As in any society on earth, including this highly controlled, religiously based one, there is the hypocrisy. And we can soon see from the conversations our Driver has with her passengers, that there are also the largely unspoken hopes, fears, needs and insecurities of these people, who often appear to be going through the motions of life, rather than truly living it.
The film mostly focuses on how women view this world; but their perspective is primarily organized around and driven by their relationships with men, be they fathers, boyfriends, husbands or sons. The film is difficult to watch at first, because things quickly escalate into discomfort with the driver's very first passenger, but sticking it out is well worth the investment, as the exchanges each build on the ones that came before it, getting progressively deeper and deeper.
The women in this film are covered from head to foot, but still manage to lay themselves completely bare to us. It's a very simple concept, elevated to an amazing accomplishment. You will learn a great deal about life in Iran, people in general, and possibly yourself. I expect to be thinking about this movie for weeks, if not much much longer.
The film mostly focuses on how women view this world; but their perspective is primarily organized around and driven by their relationships with men, be they fathers, boyfriends, husbands or sons. The film is difficult to watch at first, because things quickly escalate into discomfort with the driver's very first passenger, but sticking it out is well worth the investment, as the exchanges each build on the ones that came before it, getting progressively deeper and deeper.
The women in this film are covered from head to foot, but still manage to lay themselves completely bare to us. It's a very simple concept, elevated to an amazing accomplishment. You will learn a great deal about life in Iran, people in general, and possibly yourself. I expect to be thinking about this movie for weeks, if not much much longer.
Google this movie to learn about the drama surrounding it. It's sad but not surprising. About this specific cut, it's very engaging for a movie of this style. It pulls you in and gets you interested in the characters. But I would say some aspects of the narrative don't really fit. The take on sex worker is extremely cliche, but I thought the fact that the main character starts thinking like her and starts sounding more like her by the end of the movie is a very smart narrative choice. This is one of those movies that just reflects and does not side. It's very realistic and well acted (except for the prostitute) with many actors being just normal people acting as themselves. The message is simple, being a woman in Iran is a life full of contradictions, and the only thing that will save us all is sisterhood. Also for a movie about women with almost all women characters, it sure came close to failing the Bechdel test!
Ten is an intriguing movie. Kiarostami explores the abilities of digital camera by mounting it at just two fixed angles on the dashboard of a car, showing us almost only the driver's and the passenger's faces. Such a stationary structure surprises by its moving content, which takes shape as the movie unfolds.
The driver is a young Iranian divorcée, recently remarried, whose conversations with a son, sisters, a young and an old woman makes up the ten episodes of the movie.
The performance taken from the kid is astonishingly natural, and other characters also appear to be just playing their everyday lives. Kiarostami opens an eye through the little gap of its two fixed digital cameras on the mundane facts of the Iran's capital life as experienced by a typical middle-class woman. The plots are so natural no one can find a better way of experiencing the knotted, contradictory complexity of such a woman's life in Iran from outside. The flow is of the scenes is smooth and the dialogues are, at least to the Iranian audience, courageous and funny, though familiar at the same time. It's a movie worth watching more than once.
The driver is a young Iranian divorcée, recently remarried, whose conversations with a son, sisters, a young and an old woman makes up the ten episodes of the movie.
The performance taken from the kid is astonishingly natural, and other characters also appear to be just playing their everyday lives. Kiarostami opens an eye through the little gap of its two fixed digital cameras on the mundane facts of the Iran's capital life as experienced by a typical middle-class woman. The plots are so natural no one can find a better way of experiencing the knotted, contradictory complexity of such a woman's life in Iran from outside. The flow is of the scenes is smooth and the dialogues are, at least to the Iranian audience, courageous and funny, though familiar at the same time. It's a movie worth watching more than once.
The film shows ten rides of a female cab-driver in modern Teheran. The protagonist (a sunglasses-wearing beautiful woman) share a ride with her son, her sister, an old faithful lady, a prostitute and a female stranger. She discuss life and social issues, and repeatedly argue with her son about her recent divorce with the boy's dad.
The movie is technically interesting and well shaped.
---- Structure The film rolls the 10 sequences introduced by a a classic old school countdown which creates a sense of formal structure, giving the film an apparent "rigid" putting the audience as "analyst".
---- Camera and Sound Only two camera angles are used in the film (beside an odd little part where we see the prostitute outside of the car ...). And the sound is very basically real and full (city's life and traffic).
---- Content But above all, despise what some will say about the apparent boringness of the film, the content is amazingly absorbing. The issues raised are universal (divorce, women's position in society, love, despair, faith ...) and perfectly rendered by these non-actors.
One last point, the female protagonist is BEAUTIFUL !
The movie is technically interesting and well shaped.
---- Structure The film rolls the 10 sequences introduced by a a classic old school countdown which creates a sense of formal structure, giving the film an apparent "rigid" putting the audience as "analyst".
---- Camera and Sound Only two camera angles are used in the film (beside an odd little part where we see the prostitute outside of the car ...). And the sound is very basically real and full (city's life and traffic).
---- Content But above all, despise what some will say about the apparent boringness of the film, the content is amazingly absorbing. The issues raised are universal (divorce, women's position in society, love, despair, faith ...) and perfectly rendered by these non-actors.
One last point, the female protagonist is BEAUTIFUL !
After sitting there watching a little boy yelling at his mother for fifteen minutes in a circuitous, repetitive argument that sounds like the actors are straining for material to fill up time, I knew I was in trouble. Unfortunately, the movie didn't improve. The centerpiece is a scene in which we watch a woman picking at a sore on her face for five minutes. And worst of all, that obnoxious boy keeps coming back for more yelling!
What is it with movies this year? First we got Gerry, which seemed like one long joke at the expense of the audience, and now 10, which qualifies as neither art nor entertainment, but more like something the director whipped out in a couple of hours in order to meet a deadline. This is just bad cinema. To call it boring is too kind. The Taste of Cherry was boring. 10 is just pathetic.
What is it with movies this year? First we got Gerry, which seemed like one long joke at the expense of the audience, and now 10, which qualifies as neither art nor entertainment, but more like something the director whipped out in a couple of hours in order to meet a deadline. This is just bad cinema. To call it boring is too kind. The Taste of Cherry was boring. 10 is just pathetic.
- itchyfriend9
- Aug 9, 2003
- Permalink
I have seen many impressive Iranian films over the years. "Ten" may be the very best of them for a variety of reasons. I think the film is remarkable because it looks so simple, but I imagine setting up the camera and capturing the realistic dialogue and plot-line we see in the film had to have taken a lot of preparation. I also think the director deliberately chose scenery to accommodate the backdrop of the film, and he must have driven around Teheran constantly to figure out which images to put in the background. I think the scenes with the murals of new arch-conservative president are very telling. "Ten" seems to have a lot of messages under the radar, including the subversive powers of all governments (certainly including our own in America) to censor art. I think the relationship between the mother and her son is a very poignant one, and it shows how children and adults simply live in different spheres of the universe. Film is strikingly similar in some aspects to American independent filmmaker Rob Nilsson's film "Signal 7" which came out over 20 years ago.
"Ten" makes the third Iranian film I have seen. I was very impressed with the last two I saw and so I decided to see this one and I was not disappointed.
Abbas Kiarostami gives "reality tv" (movie ?) a whole new meaning by having a mini camera installed on the dashboard of a car to video tape what appears to be a woman's daily driving routine.
There are ten segments that are video taped (hence the title of the movie) as she drives to and from her daily activities.
First off, we get to see her and her son, Amin, discussing her divorce from Amin's father and how displeased Amin is with the fact that they divorced. Amin, of course, is bitter, as most children are who have had to live thru a divorce. He desperately wants to go live with his father.
Two more times throughout the movie we see Amin and his mother furthering their discussion and we get to see how their relationship continues to deteriorate.
Amin's mother and her sister are seen in one segment discussing Amin and his behavior and the aunt even gives her opinion that it might be better for the boy to go live with the father on a full time basis for a while.
We also see Amin's mother give an old lady a lift to a mauseliam so the old lady can go do her religious rituals.
Amin's mother also gives a lift to a hooker and talks with her for a while in hopes to get her to chose a different life.
All in all, the movie shows a deeply sensitive woman who wants to help others and be there for her son while being her own person.
It's truly a heart felt movie to see how caring she is even though her relationship with her son appears doomed.
Abbas Kiarostami gives "reality tv" (movie ?) a whole new meaning by having a mini camera installed on the dashboard of a car to video tape what appears to be a woman's daily driving routine.
There are ten segments that are video taped (hence the title of the movie) as she drives to and from her daily activities.
First off, we get to see her and her son, Amin, discussing her divorce from Amin's father and how displeased Amin is with the fact that they divorced. Amin, of course, is bitter, as most children are who have had to live thru a divorce. He desperately wants to go live with his father.
Two more times throughout the movie we see Amin and his mother furthering their discussion and we get to see how their relationship continues to deteriorate.
Amin's mother and her sister are seen in one segment discussing Amin and his behavior and the aunt even gives her opinion that it might be better for the boy to go live with the father on a full time basis for a while.
We also see Amin's mother give an old lady a lift to a mauseliam so the old lady can go do her religious rituals.
Amin's mother also gives a lift to a hooker and talks with her for a while in hopes to get her to chose a different life.
All in all, the movie shows a deeply sensitive woman who wants to help others and be there for her son while being her own person.
It's truly a heart felt movie to see how caring she is even though her relationship with her son appears doomed.
- robertvannsmith
- May 4, 2003
- Permalink
With Ten, Kiarostami pushed very far the boundaries of his 'no-plot' approach. Even an illusory plot is no more in this movie. There is a video camera mounted within a car. A woman is driving throughout the streets of Tehran, taking occasional passengers, always women (with one exception: her son). Free discussions start every time, about this and that: all take place in the car, no crew is there, no director, only the driver - woman and the passenger - woman. The approach that was taken firstly in making ABC Africa is used here brilliantly: hand-held camera to free the movie of all cinematic restrictions and to ensure the interactive participation of interprets (non-professionals, like in all his works).
Nevertheless the spontaneity has inherent limits. The director is not there, but he chooses each new personage and before each sequence he gives general instructions about what is to be discussed. The flow of discussion is subtly controlled by the woman who is driving (who is the only professional interpret, Mania Akbari; in real life she is working in the movie industry, and like the personage in the movie she is divorced; her child plays his own role).
Anyway, each sequence is no more a scene miming reality: it is pure reality. It happens in this movie what happened in the contemporary art: like Warhol and Rauschenberg and all the others who renounced of creating images to represent reality, taking real objects instead, to create art, here in Ten, Kiarostami was able to get this great mirage: he took reality from the street and transformed it into art.
Nevertheless the spontaneity has inherent limits. The director is not there, but he chooses each new personage and before each sequence he gives general instructions about what is to be discussed. The flow of discussion is subtly controlled by the woman who is driving (who is the only professional interpret, Mania Akbari; in real life she is working in the movie industry, and like the personage in the movie she is divorced; her child plays his own role).
Anyway, each sequence is no more a scene miming reality: it is pure reality. It happens in this movie what happened in the contemporary art: like Warhol and Rauschenberg and all the others who renounced of creating images to represent reality, taking real objects instead, to create art, here in Ten, Kiarostami was able to get this great mirage: he took reality from the street and transformed it into art.
- p_radulescu
- Mar 29, 2010
- Permalink
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I would recommend it to anyone curious about Iranian culture. It is one of those films which you watch and afterwards begin to think about the film as a whole in so many different contexts. The story is about men. The funny thing is that there is no men in the film except for the father who we never meet.
Have you ever seen a film shot with only two camera angles? That's about all you'll have to brag about after watching this.
For a film with this little camera movement, the bread and butter of the story must be in the chemistry of the characters, which unfortunately are given no depth. I find it hard to care about the plights of people who show up onscreen with neither introduction nor apparent relevance. Since the characters are always seated, you might try to extract (or abstract) some meaning from the way that they move or react to the dialogue, but you'll probably be distracted by the people driving by the window and waving at the camera. Either that or you'll have to look really hard, because one of the scenes occurs in almost complete darkness. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it too much, because even though the main character develops through her experiences, it doesn't matter, because subsequent character interactions are essentially identical! The dialogue is as static as the camera angles.
Which probably leaves you waiting for the payoff, the epiphany that wraps up an otherwise diluted and uninspired movie. When it comes though, don't expect to care.
It's not that I don't appreciate novel ways of storytelling, or the insight that is often afforded by films that differ from my own cultural perspective. However, it still has to follow a few basic rules - i.e. it must be remotely interesting. Whatever the cultural, ideological, philosophical or political background of the film, if I don't care and relate to the characters by the credits, I consider the film to be a failure.
1/10
For a film with this little camera movement, the bread and butter of the story must be in the chemistry of the characters, which unfortunately are given no depth. I find it hard to care about the plights of people who show up onscreen with neither introduction nor apparent relevance. Since the characters are always seated, you might try to extract (or abstract) some meaning from the way that they move or react to the dialogue, but you'll probably be distracted by the people driving by the window and waving at the camera. Either that or you'll have to look really hard, because one of the scenes occurs in almost complete darkness. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it too much, because even though the main character develops through her experiences, it doesn't matter, because subsequent character interactions are essentially identical! The dialogue is as static as the camera angles.
Which probably leaves you waiting for the payoff, the epiphany that wraps up an otherwise diluted and uninspired movie. When it comes though, don't expect to care.
It's not that I don't appreciate novel ways of storytelling, or the insight that is often afforded by films that differ from my own cultural perspective. However, it still has to follow a few basic rules - i.e. it must be remotely interesting. Whatever the cultural, ideological, philosophical or political background of the film, if I don't care and relate to the characters by the credits, I consider the film to be a failure.
1/10
Many years ago I saw the "Taste Of Cherry", "Circle", "Children Of Paradise", and I don't understand how that amount of magic is coming out of one and the same country. I still have not cracked the code. There is something truly unique about Iranian filmmakers, which puts to shame all the big budget blockbusters, and even some more humble attempts at independent or art cinema of late. Perhaps Iran is France of east. What I liked about French Nouvelle Vague, I am starting to like about Kiarostami and his less well known colleagues.
Even before seeing this film I knew that it was, in a way, an experiment. Kiarostami wanted to make a film with minimal budget. Say, a few thousand dollars. And he did it, with result which puts to shame other similar attempts.
In "Ten" there is a car, driven by a woman in Iran, her child, her estranged husband, some other women, and that is about it. We barely even get to see the city. One also has to take into account the local rules and culture as well, which is less visible character in the film.
Think it is impossible to make a film out of those elements, with only two dash mounted miniDV cameras? Think again, because Kiarostami did it, and he did it with gusto and talent that left me speechless.
I will admit that the film is quite local in its focus, but also global in its theme. The local aspect left me wondering what the woman's job was, as she seems to be taking other women in her car all the time... until I learned that first of all, women do need all the help they can get in Iran (duhh...), and also that it is illegal (correct me if I am wrong) to drive a car alone in some parts of Iran or Tehran. It almost seemed to me that she was a taxi driver, but she is not. However, even with that little misconception on my part, I did not loose any of the joy of watching this deceptively simple treasure.
The best things in life seem to come from the places we would never expect.
If you are a lover of good cinema, than by all means, watch this film. If you have dreams of making your own films, perhaps you should buy this one and study it over and over again.
Even before seeing this film I knew that it was, in a way, an experiment. Kiarostami wanted to make a film with minimal budget. Say, a few thousand dollars. And he did it, with result which puts to shame other similar attempts.
In "Ten" there is a car, driven by a woman in Iran, her child, her estranged husband, some other women, and that is about it. We barely even get to see the city. One also has to take into account the local rules and culture as well, which is less visible character in the film.
Think it is impossible to make a film out of those elements, with only two dash mounted miniDV cameras? Think again, because Kiarostami did it, and he did it with gusto and talent that left me speechless.
I will admit that the film is quite local in its focus, but also global in its theme. The local aspect left me wondering what the woman's job was, as she seems to be taking other women in her car all the time... until I learned that first of all, women do need all the help they can get in Iran (duhh...), and also that it is illegal (correct me if I am wrong) to drive a car alone in some parts of Iran or Tehran. It almost seemed to me that she was a taxi driver, but she is not. However, even with that little misconception on my part, I did not loose any of the joy of watching this deceptively simple treasure.
The best things in life seem to come from the places we would never expect.
If you are a lover of good cinema, than by all means, watch this film. If you have dreams of making your own films, perhaps you should buy this one and study it over and over again.
You have to see this movie to realize how to create a compelling movie by filming conversations between people sitting in a car! The simplicity of the style underscores the complexity of the themes addressed in Ten. The story meanders through big philosophies of like – marriage, parenthood, faith, sex, love – with amazing ease and grace. It starts with an angry scene between a mother and her young son. The protagonist talks to several different people in her car, but interestingly no adult men. Towards the last scene, the son gets angrier and more aggressive and dismissive. The mother, through all the conversations, seems to reach a point of acceptance with her sense of loss. The dialog and faces used in the movie are captivating.
I was surprised with the creativity and intelligence of director. Very deep and sensitive topics such as challenges of women in a closed society, challenge of being a mother who tries to be herself, challenges of a son who suffers from dilemma and divorced ....have been pictured through 10 episodes, with a small camera and using real people and real story.
I believe this movie provides a unique opportunity to touch deeply some of the important human interactions and find a real context to think about love, hate, relationship, parenting and child's world. Director tried to not judge. He finished the movie very quickly and leave us to ask ourselves: What is the difference between sacrificing for someone and loving someone? is there any victim? if there is who is victim? who is responsible? and other questions..
I also amazed with the intellectual ability of the child in discussion. He is made to be a lawyer in the future.
I believe this movie provides a unique opportunity to touch deeply some of the important human interactions and find a real context to think about love, hate, relationship, parenting and child's world. Director tried to not judge. He finished the movie very quickly and leave us to ask ourselves: What is the difference between sacrificing for someone and loving someone? is there any victim? if there is who is victim? who is responsible? and other questions..
I also amazed with the intellectual ability of the child in discussion. He is made to be a lawyer in the future.
Today afternoon I saw Abbas Kiarostami's TEN - an Iranian movie that was downloaded and kept with me from may be 3-4 years. It was BRILLIANT. Kiarostami is one of my favorite directors
Ten is a story of a lady in Tehran, Iran - whose life is documented by 10 episodes while she is driving her car. Each episode opens us slowly un-welding a new layer of human issue and personal relationship with such simplicity that after a while the movie seeps into your bone - marrow and starts bringing about unconscious awareness of our own groundings.
1. The Lady driver (beautiful Mania Akbari) picks up her son to drop him to a swimming pool - this introduces us to their complex relationship and the history of divorce and her dating another man 2. The Lady drops her sister to a place and this episode unveils the family structure and dynamics between sister and comfort level of the her child finding more happiness with a full-fledge family of her maternal aunt - uncle, their son and grand-ma. 3. The Lady picks up an old lady to drop her at the mausoleum, and opens up issues surrounding prayers, good wishes, God, and simple humans 4. The Lady picks up a prostitute - who was cheated by her LOVER, and now is a happy street hooker who thinks this lady driver is nothing different than what she is doing by selling her body for money. 5. The Lady picks up a stranger girl - who does not believe in God but has started to pray to God - so that her dream man whom she LOVES will agree to marry her. 6. The Lady picks up her another friend - who is facing a recent break-up of relationship - after 7 years of courtship and how depressed and desperate she is to kill herself - if she does not get that boy back. 7. 8. There are 2 more episodes with the Lady and her son being picked up and dropped 9. There is one more episode with the Girl who does not believe in God but goes to pray. Her dream has shattered as she realizes that the man whom she LOVES will never marry her - and she has bald her head due to that. 10. The last episode is again with her son - who does not want to stay with her but instead with her Grand-mother's house.
The movie may look like a documentary but it is a fictional movie. There are just two cameras used - one capturing the driver's seat and the other the other front car seat. That way the use of machine / technically the movie is minimalistic. Only a master crafts-person like Kiarostami can think of such an idea and execute it with utter simplicity yet expertise.
The first single shot of the movie is 16 minutes long - just focusing in the child and the driver - Mom (lady) is never shown - but we can listen them talking and arguing.
Another aspect that I noticed was the interaction between this 8 year old boy and his mother (the driver). If one reads the dialogues without knowledge of who are these two characters - one will end up concluding - that they are LOVERS or Husband-wife who are unhappy - staying with each other and fighting.
Each episode is iconic in opening new flood gates of understanding issues that we face across and some questions that we think of finding answers. This movie is a soul-searching journey of humanity through the lens of women's life.
The great thing is that it is made by a man - Abbas Kairostami with utmost sincerity. His sensitivities, understanding of psychology, the depth of presenting things with utter simplicity - that can change a world-view is nothing short of a person who knows his craft and who knows humanity in and out.
Each and every episodic interactions are far-reaching beyond the interiors of the car but the most enriching is between the prostitute and the driver. Wow..!
The prostitute is not shown in a single frame except her from her back when she gets out of the car and picks up a night-customer - we can just listen to her voice-over. Brilliant!
All actors have acted with such perfection that not a single note seems awkward or acted. There are long and lingering shots on a person - and I wonder - how much rehearsals and shooting would have been done to come with a perfect single take shot. Special mention of the lady - Mania Akbari - We just see her face driving her car but she is so stunning in her persona.
It is a life changing movie. When you get time and leisure and are in good mood and alone - sit and see this movie. It is a movie that is whole-heartedly recommended to all cinema lovers. Normally I never give a movie more than 8 stars. But I give this movie
(8.25 out of 10)
Ten is a story of a lady in Tehran, Iran - whose life is documented by 10 episodes while she is driving her car. Each episode opens us slowly un-welding a new layer of human issue and personal relationship with such simplicity that after a while the movie seeps into your bone - marrow and starts bringing about unconscious awareness of our own groundings.
1. The Lady driver (beautiful Mania Akbari) picks up her son to drop him to a swimming pool - this introduces us to their complex relationship and the history of divorce and her dating another man 2. The Lady drops her sister to a place and this episode unveils the family structure and dynamics between sister and comfort level of the her child finding more happiness with a full-fledge family of her maternal aunt - uncle, their son and grand-ma. 3. The Lady picks up an old lady to drop her at the mausoleum, and opens up issues surrounding prayers, good wishes, God, and simple humans 4. The Lady picks up a prostitute - who was cheated by her LOVER, and now is a happy street hooker who thinks this lady driver is nothing different than what she is doing by selling her body for money. 5. The Lady picks up a stranger girl - who does not believe in God but has started to pray to God - so that her dream man whom she LOVES will agree to marry her. 6. The Lady picks up her another friend - who is facing a recent break-up of relationship - after 7 years of courtship and how depressed and desperate she is to kill herself - if she does not get that boy back. 7. 8. There are 2 more episodes with the Lady and her son being picked up and dropped 9. There is one more episode with the Girl who does not believe in God but goes to pray. Her dream has shattered as she realizes that the man whom she LOVES will never marry her - and she has bald her head due to that. 10. The last episode is again with her son - who does not want to stay with her but instead with her Grand-mother's house.
The movie may look like a documentary but it is a fictional movie. There are just two cameras used - one capturing the driver's seat and the other the other front car seat. That way the use of machine / technically the movie is minimalistic. Only a master crafts-person like Kiarostami can think of such an idea and execute it with utter simplicity yet expertise.
The first single shot of the movie is 16 minutes long - just focusing in the child and the driver - Mom (lady) is never shown - but we can listen them talking and arguing.
Another aspect that I noticed was the interaction between this 8 year old boy and his mother (the driver). If one reads the dialogues without knowledge of who are these two characters - one will end up concluding - that they are LOVERS or Husband-wife who are unhappy - staying with each other and fighting.
Each episode is iconic in opening new flood gates of understanding issues that we face across and some questions that we think of finding answers. This movie is a soul-searching journey of humanity through the lens of women's life.
The great thing is that it is made by a man - Abbas Kairostami with utmost sincerity. His sensitivities, understanding of psychology, the depth of presenting things with utter simplicity - that can change a world-view is nothing short of a person who knows his craft and who knows humanity in and out.
Each and every episodic interactions are far-reaching beyond the interiors of the car but the most enriching is between the prostitute and the driver. Wow..!
The prostitute is not shown in a single frame except her from her back when she gets out of the car and picks up a night-customer - we can just listen to her voice-over. Brilliant!
All actors have acted with such perfection that not a single note seems awkward or acted. There are long and lingering shots on a person - and I wonder - how much rehearsals and shooting would have been done to come with a perfect single take shot. Special mention of the lady - Mania Akbari - We just see her face driving her car but she is so stunning in her persona.
It is a life changing movie. When you get time and leisure and are in good mood and alone - sit and see this movie. It is a movie that is whole-heartedly recommended to all cinema lovers. Normally I never give a movie more than 8 stars. But I give this movie
(8.25 out of 10)