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Film / Taste of Cherry

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Taste of Cherry is a 1997 Iranian film directed by Abbas Kiarostami.

The film concerns a middle-aged man named Mr. Badii, who, as the movie opens, is driving around the hills outside of Tehran. He approaches a young soldier on the way back to his barracks and offers him a ride. Soon, Mr. Badii is trying to coax the soldier to go on a detour with him, with an offer of a lucrative job. Is Mr. Badii a gay man looking for a pickup? No, he is planning to commit suicide and in fact has already dug his own grave. Mr. Badii is trying to find someone who will agree to bury him after he dies, or, if he loses his nerve, to help him out of the grave.

It won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.


Tropes:

  • Call-Back: Badii says that the happiest time in his life was when he was in the army. The film's Gainax Ending references this.
  • Creator Cameo: Abbas Kiraostami (and others in the film crew) appear during the Gainax Ending.
  • Dig Your Own Grave: Mr. Badii has done this for himself, on purpose. All he needs is for someone to shovel the dirt over him after he kills himself, or to help him out if he loses his nerve.
  • Dramatic Irony: After Mr. Badii makes an unsafe U-turn in the middle of a road, a passing driver says "Hey, what's wrong? Are you in a hurry to die?"
  • Driven to Suicide: The taxidermist in the past, and Mr. Badii in the present. Interestingly, it's never explained why.
  • Extremely Short Timespan: A few afternoon hours, as Mr. Badii drives around the hills looking for someone to bury him.
  • Gainax Ending: After the Turkish taxidermist agrees to bury Mr. Badii after he commits suicide Badii goes and lies down in his grave. After a period of darkness, the film cuts to a shot of the people making the film. The actor who plays Mr. Badii hands a cigarette to Kiarostami while some soldiers sit around.
  • Healthcare Motivation: Why Mr. Bagheri, the taxidermist, ultimately agrees to assist in Mr. Badii's scheme. He has a sick son at home and needs the money.
  • In Medias Res: The third segment of the film, where Mr. Badii gets the Turkish man to agree to help him, does not show Mr. Badii approaching him or the Turk getting into his car. A scene where Mr. Badii watches the quarry in operation cuts to him getting in the car, where the Turk is already there and where Mr. Badii has already explained offscreen what is to be done.
  • Minimalism: The film is mostly just shots of Mr. Badii's car driving and Mr. Badii talking with people. The film also refuses to divulge Mr. Badii's reason for wanting to commit suicide or any background information about him.
  • Mistaken for Gay: In Mr. Badii's first attempt, he sounds like he is propositioning the young soldier for sexual favors. It's a sign that he's so caught up in his own despair that he doesn't notice how he comes across to other people.
  • No Name Given: The first two of the three people Mr. Badii approaches are named.
  • Rule of Three: Mr. Badii attempts to convince three different people to bury him after he dies.
  • Speech-Centric Work: A lot of talking from beginning to end, as Mr. Badii tries to convince people to dispose of his corpse.
  • Thousand-Yard Stare: Mr. Badii's empty stare as he sits for a while and watches the operations of the quarry.
  • Title Drop: Towards the end the Turkish man, trying to talk Mr. Badii into abandoning his suicide plan, says "You wan to give up the taste of cherries?"

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