Ten (2002)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami (writer)

Release Date:

18 September 2002 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Ten sequences examine the emotional lives of women at significant junctures.

Plot Keywords:

Prayer | Mother Son Relationship | One Word Title | Iran | Sister Sister Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mania Akbari	...	Driver
Amin Maher	...	Amin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kamran Adl
Roya Arabshahi
Amene Moradi
Mandana Sharbaf
Katayoun Taleizadeh

Also Known As:

10 (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
Ten (France)
Untitled Abbas Kiarostami 2002 (France) (working title)

Runtime:

France:91 min (Cannes Film Festival) | Germany:94 min | UK:92 min | USA:94 min | Portugal:90 min | Argentina:94 min

Country:

France | Iran | USA

Language:

Persian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:I | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Company:

Abbas Kiarostami Productions

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#01, with "Choses secrètes")

Quotes:

Prostitute: [to a Married woman] You are wholesailers. We are retailers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 10 on Ten (2004)

Soundtrack:

Walking In The Air

9 times out of 10, it works... not a bad ratio!

The front-page review of this film simply doesn't do this marvelous film justice. Renowned Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami takes an innovative approach at giving us a very deep glimpse not only into the life of mother and child, but also into Iran, its society and the situation of women transitioning to a more assertive role in society (however, I don't think one should be confused that the issues women face in Iran are not relevant to women elsewhere in the world, including the West).

The film has two fixed camera angles, one giving us a view of the driver-side and the other a view of the passenger side of an automobile. The driver is a mother who has left her husband and now resides with her new lover (she is the common thread in all ten "episodes"). Each sequence places a different person in the passenger seat, with particular emphasis on her son (who rides in four of the 10 scenes, if I'm not mistaken).

It is this mother-son relationship that is at the crux of the film, and for good reason. The performances of these two characters was nothing short of amazing. The boy in particular, with every eye-twitch, frown, smile, and outburst was able to convey a frighteningly realistic portrayal of a boy who is all at once obstinate, angry, disrespectful, and immature, yet still sweet and somewhat an innocent victim of the situation. He is unforgiving to his mother for walking out on him and "breaking up the family" and is reluctant to accept any explanation his mother offers. They trade barbs and though the love is there, you can see the seeds already planted in the young adolescent of a society that subordinates women to their male partners. Here, it is so profound that even a pre-teen lectures his mother on right and wrong.

The mother bounces back and forth between defending herself to accepting blame, showing the cracks of guilt that clearly lie beneath her composed and beautiful surface. And it's a beauty that her son can't recognize: she's a sexy passionate woman with needs of not just a mother but also as a lover and a liver; but like all children he can only see her as an adult and a mother.

The other key character involves a friend who desperately seeks a life partner, but finds herself unsuccessful at every turn. Most recently, a man she has been seeing tells her that he cannot marry her because he does not love her. She coyly reveals from under her veil that in her grief she has shaved her head completely. This act is astonishing not because it is defiant but because it is terribly charming. She can't offer an explanation as to why she has done it, but no explanation is necessary. Who hasn't at some time when an ego has been made fragile by rejection, sought to change hair, clothing, face, self? And it is with this scene, with veil pulled back, that the woman's beauty is uncovered, not because we see her hair or her bald head, but because of the insight the shaving act gives to her character, and her innocent embarrassment brings a smile to her tear-stained face that lights up the screen.

I give the film a 9 and not a 10 because of one sequence involving a conversation with a prostitute in the passenger seat. Presumably the driver has given a ride to hitch-hiker, leading to an intelligent conversation/debate about the world's oldest profession. But this scene seemed a little out-of-place, contrived, and added little to the more general theme of the rest of the film. This one slip-up notwithstanding, "Ten" is a creative and wonderful experience for film lovers who seek something out of the ordinary. And it has a final scene which punctuates the film perfectly.