Mesmerising realism from Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry, Certified Copy), a film within a film explores the process of filmmaking with a non-professional cast in rural Iran.
With the film director (Mohamad Ali Keshavarz – The Rose, The Chess Game of the Wind) and his crew encouraging and supporting the young actors as best they can, the romantic love off-set by his young lead actor Farhad for his on-screen new wife Tahereh interferes with the shoot. The problem is Tahereh will not have a bar of him.
Gentle and warmhearted, Through the Olive Trees is a gloriously beautiful nuanced feature shot in a muted palatte whch adds to its understatement.
Rating: 80%
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