The poet Denise Levertov proposed that the world might know peace if we reorganized priorities in favour of ‘long pauses’. She was calling for a practice of deep imagination. The final movie from master filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami feels like a profound example. In it, Kiarostami challenges us to be patient and watchful, investing our imaginations in a one-of-a-kind experience. Kiarostami, an Iranian director who was always playful in both his storytelling and his formal craftsmanship, offered 24 still photographs—mostly images of scenery (snow, sun, pastures, woods, ocean waves) and animals (crows, cows, horses, lions)—to special effects artists, who teased those pictures to life. Some have described the results as extravagant screensavers. Others find subtle poetry at work. Critics have struggled to summarize this gallery of moving pictures. Few have proposed the potential for these ‘frames’ as occasions for spiritual contemplation and even prayer. But the stillnesses in these frames are God-haunted. (Consider how often the psalms and Christ’s own teachings were prompted by focused concentration on sky, weather, birds, beasts.) What will seem intolerably boring for some will become a new cinematic awakening for others. Isn’t it curious that a world-renowned filmmaker would invest his last hours of artistry in meditating on quiet landscapes? Likely, he felt it would be a peaceful coda for a provocative career.
– Jeffrey Overstreet
- Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
- Produced by:
- Written by:
- Music by:
- Cinematography by:
- Editing by:
- Release Date: 2018
- Running Time: 114
- Language: English
Arts & Faith Lists:
2018 Top 10 — #10