DVD Ten

4 Star

Abbas Kiarostami is one of the most influential and celebrated Iranian filmmakers of the last thirty years. In 1997, he won the Palm d’Or at Cannes for the masterful Taste Of Cherry. In common with the more esteemed of his fellow auteurs, Kiarostami has built a universe of personalized and individual markers which characterise his films. One of these symbols, particularly in recent years, has been his move to include the audience in the discussion. This move to a form of filmmaking, which has more in common with Third Cinema, is important in understanding Ten, which purposely seems to leave certain issues unanswered.

"The style and form of the film make it an unnatural viewing experience."

Ten is a minimalist drama that’s set inside a car. However, to leave it at that would be hugely unfair and a disservice to the film.

Following an anonymous female driver played by Mania Akbari, as she drives through Tehran, the audience witnesses ten conversations that she has with various passengers. These include her son, Amin, played with confidence by Mania’s real son Amir Maher; her sister; an old woman on her way to church; and a prostitute…

While these set pieces are inherently political, Kiarostami refuses to be didactic or lecture the audience. As he is quoted as saying: “I don’t like to engage in telling stories. I don’t like to arouse the viewer emotionally or give him advice. I don’t like to belittle him or burden him with a sense of guilt. These are the things I don’t like in movies.”

In the early stages of the film’s production, each of the episodes was based around a psychologist who used her car to carry out the sessions. Elements of this can still be seen within the film as we, the audience, witness private moments between the characters. However, keeping to his beliefs, Kiarostami doesn’t advise or burden the viewer. In this way, neither the women, nor Amin, become caricatures or representatives of issues within Iran.

Kiarostami invokes many methods within Ten to create the realist form. Firstly, in a similar way to how he doesn’t like to emotionally advise the viewer, the film lacks any Oscar baiting music. This frees the words and drama of the film to do the talking, rather than the director manipulating the emotions of the audience. Furthermore, the depiction of the car, one of Kiarostami’s ‘markers’, is conspicuously not fetishised. This is so different to a Hollywood approach; it comes across as unnatural and out of place. Here, rather than associate it with freedom, mobility and even escape, Kiarostami makes the car into a container of the character’s drama. Furthermore, in using digital cameras rather than a more traditional method, Kiarostami managed to film more than twenty hours of footage. Therefore, allowing issues to fester and to create the brilliant claustrophobic feel inside the car.

Ten is not an easy film to watch.

Nevertheless, Kiarostami allows many ‘challenging’ conversations into the film. This is most obvious in the slightly prickly piece of dialogue between the prostitute and Mania. The prostitute makes fun of Mania’s naïve view of love and relationships, and suggests that love can instead be broken down to a series deals and trades.

What is particularly interesting about this passage within the film is the way in which Mania seems to understand and even almost agree with the prostitute. Although Mania should be seen as morally superior within society’s structures, she seems to be slightly taken in by the pragmatic and practical approach taken by the prostitute.

Finally, as the most recurring theme within the film, come the discussions between Amin and Mania. If the talk between the prostitute and Mania can be seen as spiky, then these scenes are verbal fighting. Close to a third of the film is given to these scenes and, like the rest of the film, they unearth certain challenges. These scenes are best described as the spine of the film, as Amin appears in four of episodes, including the opening and closing ones.

While describing Ten as having a conventional plot may be a stretch too far, these regular meetings do give the story a slightly more conventional structure. The claustrophobic nature of the car is also enhanced in these scenes due to the tension between the two characters.

Ten is not an easy film to watch. The style and form of the film make it an unnatural viewing experience, particularly if you are more used to a Hollywood feature. Furthermore, the still, cramped and unwavering view of the camera can become difficult and frustrating. Nevertheless, Abbas Kiarostami is a true pioneer of the minimalist form and his use of digital cinema creates an unforgettable viewing experience as we see a rare forgiving view of everyday Iranian life.