Ten (2002)

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

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami

Stars:

Mania Akbari, Amin Maher, Kamran Adl

2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Ten, the latest film by Iranian master filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, focuses on ten conversations between a female driver in Tehran and the passengers in her car. Her exchanges with her young son, a jilted bride, a prostitute, a women on her way to prayer and others, shed light on the lives and emotions of these women whose voices are seldom heard.

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Plot Keywords:

prayer | docudrama | prostitution | mother son relationship | religion | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

MK2 [fr] synopsis, infos, interview, photos and trailer (English, French) Southwestern University Filmmakers

Country:

France Iran USA

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

18 September 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

10

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,559 (USA) (7 March 2003)

Gross:

$105,656 (USA) (6 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Abbas Kiarostami Productions, Key Lime Productions, MK2 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 91 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2000s (#10).

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in 10 on Ten (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Walking In The Air"
Written and Performed by Howard Blake
© Chester Music Limited represented by Première Music Group

User Reviews

Iran: Most significant cinema today?

My experience with Iranian film is pretty superficial having only seen a handful, but none have disappointed me. I saw Kiarostami's early film Where Does The Friend Live? and was completely blown away. I then saw Saalam Cinema by Iran's other giant Mohsen Makhmalbaf - and then I realised just how important this country's output has been.

Ten did nothing to diminish this view, and I'll try not to repeat much of what's already been said here. I saw an Iranian person on this site claim that there was too much lost in the translation from Farsi to English. This is always the case with translation, but I am quite sure Ten gets away with it. I recently saw Ingmar Bergman's Saraband and if you think language being stilted ruins a movie then I am sure seeing that film will shatter the view. The single thing that destroys it in both cases is the incredible power of the acting - the truth lies in their facial expression. I am quite sure 9 out of 10 people asked without context would swear blind Ten was a documentary.

In the western world overrun by "reality" TV, its significance is lost on some, but if you take the time to realise that these people are actually acting - and more than likely doing it for the first time - thats where the power lies. Try taking this film, put it in America and put Hollywood A-Listers in the car and see where it goes. Basically, how you could call both what they do and what happens in this film acting is opened to debate. This is true of the majority of Iranian output.

Ten would be significant for these reasons alone, but when you take into account how much insight you gain into the life of a woman in there who tries to say no to male domination and to "love herself" it really comes into its own. This is the case of much of this countries output - and what sets is far apart from other countries. What we learn ultimately is this struggle, though perhaps more explicit in Iran, is a struggle felt by all women in the world. It's a film which in that way unites rather than divides which in light of Iran's current status in global affairs is what probably what makes it one of the more important Cinema's in the world.