Late in Kiarostami’s first decade as a working filmmaker, the Iranian Revolution of 1979 took hold. It serves here as a bridge between these two short features: The first, a satiric yet suspenseful tale of three kids and something of value that doesn’t belong to them. The second, a lesson in solidarity, ideology and resistance.
A WEDDING SUIT:
In a tri-level shopping arcade, a teenage boy who works for a tailor is besieged by two other boys who want to borrow a new suit to wear on a social outing before it’s turned over to its owner. One of the most accomplished and intricately plotted of Kiarostami’s Kanoon films, this sharply observed drama contains suspense, satire, an undercurrent of violence, and even a magic show.
CASE NO. 1, CASE NO. 2:
This extraordinary film was made in the spring of 1979, completed not long after the shah’s overthrow. Kiarostami stages two versions of a classroom discipline situation—in one, a student tells on a troublemaker; in the other, seven students refuse to rat—and then has several adult authorities comment on the outcomes. The fascinating responses evoke conflicts between order and resistance.
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