AND A STEP TO FARTHER LANDS : "THE WIND WILL CARRY US"

OK enough frivolity; let’s finish this week off with a proper art-house movie shall we? And let’s get our noses out of Hollywood for a minute. Heck, let’s get away from Europe too. There is a lot of world out there and a lot of cinema in it, so let’s see what else is available to us. One tends to forget to do that, and one must remember that even though they do not always make headlines there are a lot of talented directors out there, a lot of fascinating stories and things we have yet to learn. Of course if one were to make a list there would be rather too many to mention. What I specifically have in mind for this week is Iran and famous Persian director Abbas Kiarostami. His film The Wind Will Carry Us won him prestigious accolades such as a Golden Lion nomination at the Venice Film Festival, not to mention FIPRESCI, Grand Special Jury Prize and Best Film at the same. There are, of course, problems inherent to a film originating from Iran otherwise I have no doubt the film would have many more accolades to its name. This silent, understated little masterpiece has a lot to say about life…
Iran is a fascinating country where many ancient customs rub shoulders with the new. One of the customs that have persisted like this to modern times is the concept of traditional funerals. These funerals – though sad occasions as funerals usually are – are marked, in rural areas with many customs different than our own, one of the greatest differences being the way the women injure themselves and tear out their hair. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it – this custom is sort of dying out now… But the media being the media, when a chance is found to film such a ceremony and comment on it in however way is appropriate at the time, it is not missed. This is how producer Behzad along with his camera crew of two ends up in a small remote village in rural Iran. Here, they have heard this ancient funerary custom still survives and what is more, there is an old woman who lives there who is literally on her death bed. So the team keeps a silent vigil, waiting for her die and their chance to capture the events on film… However the fact that the old woman seems to insist on staying alive throws a spanner into their plans. And as their stay grows longer and longer, a certain je ne sais quoi of rural life begins to rub off, even off steely Behzad…
The film starts off as if it is going to be quite difficult to watch. It is extremely slow-paced and nothing much seems to be happening, until that is, you realize that this is precisely the point of the whole film. We concentrate on the effects this “nothing happening” has on Behzad. Indeed, Behzad is such a focal point that although he interacts with his camera crew a lot and we frequently hear the two men’s voices we never actually see them. Another person we never actually see is the old woman who is meant to be dying. We hear of her a lot through the little boy serving as guide to Behzad and his team, we see her house and her son, but we never actually have that “fly on the wall” death bed scene one would expect from a Hollywood production. No, the film is completely tied in with Behzad’s point of view. Sometimes not even that seeing as Behzad does actually see his camera crew. The film is all about the fact that sometimes you just don’t know what life is going to come up at you with. You just have to have faith, lean back and go with it. That’s what life in the countryside is all about and that’s its fundamental difference from city life. In the city we are always on the trot, never quite sure where the next “thing” whatever it may be is coming from, we are either chasing after it or trying to avoid it. In the country work also continues but it is less frantic. There may or may not be a lot of it, the point is that the natural order of things is known, everyone knows their place in the order of things and takes that place with grace. This is what the face-off between Behzad – who is adamant that the old woman will die and wants to wait – and the crew – who after three weeks of futile time-wasting in the village want to go home to their families – really all boils down to. And personally I do think that we would all benefit from taking a step back and going with the flow… But what of the film? Is Behzad right in insisting on staying or has he lost track of the bigger picture? You’re just going to have to watch the film and see.