Through the Olive Trees (Kanopy/Criterion)

Dir. Abbas Kiarostami (1994); Iran, 103m
Starring: Mohammadali Keshavarz, Farhad Kheradmand, Zarifeh Shiva
Programmed by: Owen Peterson

July 25th through July 31ST

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In the final installment of the Koker Trilogy; three films bound simply by repeated actors, characters, and locations, Through the Olive Trees depicts the filmmaking process of its predecessor, And Life Goes On. Blurring the line between cinema and reality, Through the Olive Trees establishes narrative from director Abbas Kiarostami’s point of view, where the director (Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz) attempts to navigate a tumultuous relationship between his lead actors Hossein (Hossein Rezai) and Tahereh (Tahereh Ladanian) both on and off set. Kiarostami’s ‘metafication’ of film not only bends the audience’s understanding of traditional filmmaking narrative, but also abstractly situates the viewer along a pre-existing historical timeline, simulating the difficulty in perspective portrayal through the lens of a director.