Kasi az gorbehaye irani khabar nadareh (No One Knows About Persian Cats) (2009)

Director:   Bahman Ghobadi
Writers:    Bahman Ghobadi, Hossein Mortezaeian
Language: Persian
Its a docudrama about two Iranian singers trying to assemble a band and get passports and visas to travel to London and do a gig. It has a great soundtrack and vibrant energy. Its worth watching for music alone itself, but the story also stands up. The film didn't have official permission from Iran and therefore cannot be seen there.

It was also great to see Bajaj Pulsar motorbikes in Tehran.

Rating: 4/5

Days of Heaven (1978)

Director: Terrence Malick
Writer:    Terrence Malick
Cast:      Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
This is Terrence Malick's second feature film. Its shot beautifully and the narration by the sister girl is particularly good. The acting all round has a very raw feel about it which is apt for the film. All the characters in the film are neither black nor white in their morals.

Rating: 4.5/5

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers:  Was Anderson, Roman Coppola
Cast:      Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand
Wes Anderson is currently  filming Moonrise Kingdom with an incredible set of actors. Edward Norton is one fine actor who has kind of tailed off now. Will be great to see him in a Wes Anderson film.

Oldeuboi (Oldboy) (2003)

Director:  Park Chan-wook
Writer:     Garon Tsuchiya (Story), Nobuaki Minegishi, Hwang Jo Yun, Park Chan-wook
Language:Korean
Watched the Korean revenge thriller classic again for the second time and it was great again. The film is adapted from the Japanese Manga with the same name. The film had won the Grand Prix at Cannes after getting high praise from the chairman of the jury, Quentin Tarantino. Choi Min-sik is just great as Oh Dae-su.

Oldboy is the second film in the vengeance trilogy. The three films are not connected as part of the story and therefore you can watch in any order you like. In my opinion the first one, 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' is the best film of the lot but its not as entertaining as Oldboy. The third one 'Lady Vengeance' was also good but not as good as the other two.


Rating: 4.5/5

Ta'm e guilass (Taste of Cherry) (1997)

Director:   Abbas Kiarostami
Writer:      Abbas Kiarostami
Language: Persian
This wonderful film by Kiarostami, won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes. Its better to go into the film without knowing anything. Some have said that the last scene is a bit of a cop out. I don't agree completely. Homayoun Ershadi, who also played the father in Kite Runner, is great in his role as the lead- Mr. Badii.


Rating: 4.5/5

Das weiße Band (The White Ribbon) (2009)

Director:   Michael Haneke
Wrietr:      Michael Haneke
Language: German
Mysterious violent incidents happen in a small German village just before the first world war. The events are narrated to us by a school teacher. The film is in black and white though it was shot in color. The one gripe I have is this, having the film in black and white just because its a period film. Overall Haneke has described the film as an allegory on rise of Terrorism

Rating: 4/5

Avaze gonjeshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows) (2008)

Director:   Majid Majidi
Writers:    Majid Majidi, Mehran Kashani
Language: Persian
Karim, played by Mohammad Amir Naji, is an ostrich rancher who is trying to replace his daughter's hearing aid just before her exams. He gets fired from the farm when one of the ostrich assigned to him escapes. When he visits Tehran he finds a way to earn money by using his bike for ferrying people. Film looks at how this changes Karim in his personal life. Basically film is a comparison between city and village lives in a very  unsubtle way. Film is very well acted and especially because of that its a great film.

Rating: 4/5