Abbas Kiarostami is an out-of-this-world director. We know this, but the Koker Trilogy is what gives him this title in my opinion. Abbas Kiarostami filmed this trilogy in a small village in Northern Iran, outside of Tehran, named Koker. The first film, Where is The Friend’s House? (1987) is an interesting film. The premise is very simple, a young boy accidentally has his friend’s notebook and he needs to return it to him or else he will get expelled the next day. The theme of this film is clearly relationships, the main being between the young boy, Ahmad, and his school friend, Mohammad Reza. Yet, the movie is filmed very interestingly and keeps the audience engaged. Ahmad is willing to do basically anything, at least to the extent that that can be for an elementary/middle schooler, to help his friend. In fact, the whole journey in which this movie takes place starts from him disobeying his mother. Ahmad’s relationships with his elders is also clearly shown through his mother, grandmother, and father, to an extent. He wants to obey them but at the same time, he feels he needs to do whatever possible to complete his goal and save his friend.
Kiarostami shows the innocence of childhood through this film. The biggest problem in Ahmad’s life, currently, is getting this notebook to Mohammad Reza. Although you wouldn’t think of that as a huge problem, it is so important to Ahmad that he travels to the next village to find him and give him notebook back. Alongside childhood, Kiarostami also shows the selfless nature of children. Ahmad is unable to complete his own work because he feels it will be his fault if his friend gets expelled the next day since he accidentally took his book. He goes on a journey the whole day, and when he does not find him in the end, he does his homework for him. The next day, Ahmad gives the book to Mohammad Reza right before his teacher checks, and the movie ends showing a flower that he left in the notebook and the teacher approving of it. The cinematography, like all of Kiarostami’s films, is stellar and makes this movie very much worth watching.
The next film, And Life Goes On (1992) (sometimes called Life, and Nothing More...), picks up a couple years after the previous film. It follows a director, acting as if he is the director of the last film, looking for the kids from the last movie after an earthquake has struck norther Iran in 1990. This film plays a bit of “filmception” as obviously Abbas Kiarostami was the director of both films, but it is as if this film is a documentary. The director is taking his son to look for the boys who played the main characters of the last film. This film shows the direct aftermath of the earthquake, while people are still reeling from the disaster. In fact, the director is having trouble reaching the village, Koker, because the roads are either damaged or closed while the authorities examine the effects of the disaster.
The film shows 3 separate situations that portray the resilience of ordinary people in the face of hardship. In every situation, people were greatly effected, yet they had to put everything aside and just keep going. Despite losing over 50 family members, one couple, who were set to get married soon, decided to just go ahead with it because they don’t know how much time they have and they never know when they’ll die, as they put it. This couple is the focus on the next film in the trilogy but we’ll get to that later. In another situation, the people from the town right next to Koker had to temporarily relocate to living in tents because their homes were destroyed. Despite that, the kids found hope and joy in watching a football match during the World Cup. Their world may have literally been broken with them losing their homes, their possessions, and even loved ones, yet the children found joy in getting the game to work on the big screen, where they would all be watching a tournament that only happens once in every four years. This film shows the unbreakable human spirit to persevere despite all the circumstantial hardships.
The last film in this trilogy, Through the Olive Trees (1994), examines the making of one scene from the last film. This is a scene in which the young man is telling the director from the last movie about how him and his wife decided to get married right after a lot of their relatives were killed in the earthquake. This film examines the relationship between many of the characters and the production on a film set. It starts with a director looking to cast the man’s wife, who is not even showed on the screen in And Life Goes On. The man, Hossein Rezai, is playing the role of being married to this woman, however he is also trying to marry the actress who plays his wife, outside of the film. This film also plays on “filmception”, as Hossein is trying to actually marry the woman who is playing his wife from the last movie. The whole time while they are not filming, the girl does not want to talk to Hossein, and it is clear that she does not want to marry him, but when the filming starts, she has to pretend to be his wife. This film contrasts their relationship and interactions while they are filming vs when they are not. In between the many takes, Hossein is begging her to give him a chance. It is also shown that they had some history in which the girl’s parents did not like him because he was not educated and did not own a house; however her parents died in the earthquake. Hossein is persistent throughout the entire film, in fact it is to the point where he is delusional, as the girl has made it clear that she does not want him.
Despite this, the film is ended with somewhat of an open ending, as the girl eventually gives him an answer but we do not know anything except that he starts running through the olive trees. Throughout the film, the director also has several relationships that are depicted. He is seen interacting playfully with a group of children who are watching the filming of this scene. He is also shown interacting with various actors and actresses as well as the crew of this film. These films, along with Kiarostami’s other films, use his signature cinematography styles. There are many scenes depicting land reaching far away with the camera shooting at a distance. Kiarostami uses the landscape of rural Iran very much in these films, as everyday people are shown interacting with each other. Sunsets in the distance over the horizon along with the jagged terrain of rural Iran create a unique environment in these films, and there is somehow a sense of nostalgia. Kiarostami was a master of his craft and at the end of the day, he accomplished the goal of every artist: to make their audience feel something.
Where is The Friend’s House? (1987)
And Life Goes On (1992)
Through the Olive Trees (1994)