Blackboards
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Movie Reviews of Blackboards
Movie Review: Not bad but nothing special
Summary: 3 Stars
A few years ago Iranian films were the choice for Guardian columnists telling us that they were the greatest thing you were ever likely to see. Sadly, its just not the case. Granted we don't exactly have a large choice of Iranian cinema in the West and most of it is one dimensional this film is sadly one of these.
The film centers around travelling school teachers, condemned by their peers for choosing a profession they could hardly make a living on (seeing as they have to travel with their blackboards on their backs desperately trying to find students in the mountains on the border between Iran and Iraq where most seem to be more interested in farming or smuggling)
One meets up with Kurdish nomads trying to return to their homeland while another meets up with children smuggling goods across the border. While the film does have some moments of interest much of it really is of the stereotype sell to the western audience variety. The Kurdish lady one of the teachers marries is this almost zombie like character who can barely string a sentence together. I really feel the best gauge of a film is to watch it with people from that geographical area and see what their impression is of it. Friends I know have either had a look of utter bemusement at this character or cracked up laughing a such a one dimensional character that looks more like a parody from an early evening TV comedy show in the middle east.
Then we have the smugglers, mostly children they are shot at by border guards, the teacher is forced to cut up his blackboard in order to use it as a splint but again, while some may see this film as 'an eye opener to an unknown part of the Middle East' its not really an issue unknown to anyone from that area. Everyone in Turkey knows about towns in the south east who have shopping areas with sometimes better electrical goods than you find in Istanbul brought in over the border, everyone in Iraq knows the same goes for Northern Iraq.
The sad thing is, this film does cover some serious issues. The heavy mining on the borders between Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Iraq, Turkey) and the effect on the ordinary people who live on those borders. Pity the film has no depth.
Movie Review: Mediocre story
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not overly familiar with Iranian movies--but on a scale of 1 to 5--I would put "Children of Heaven" as an easy 5--"The Cow" and "Leila" as 4's--and "Blackboards"-at best a "3"-
the story starts in an intersting manner with several teachers with blackboards on their backs setting out to find students--but from there on it gradually gives way to a lot of nothing--nomadic wandering for the Iraqi border-but with no agenda--other than getting an old man to urinate and his daughter married--so he can die in peace
The acting is ok--and the "trek" is of some interest--but nothing really happens. The main character marrys, divorces and loses his blackboard-then stays in Iran while his fellow travelers cross the border
Far from being a "bad" movie--it is also far from being a "good" movie--I would recommend the other movies I mentioned-particularly "Children of Heaven" before this exercise in the mundane or "Leila"--though "The Cow"may be a little obscure to be of interest to the typical American film fan!
Movie Review: The world we don't see on CNN
Summary: 3 Stars
The most awesome aspect of this movie is its locations & shooting. Blackboards is a slow moving story - a tale that contrasts the hardships of life on the move in the remote outposts of Kurdish Iraq with the deep intent of two human beings. The story has two twin themes running in parallel, both involving nomadic teachers scouting for students who can in turn pay the teachers for their next meal. One teacher joins a bunch of young illiterate boys who work in cross border smuggling outfits for large unseen mafia bosses, while the other joins a group of migrating societal rejects who aim to get back to their land and flee the bombing of Saddam. The movie is extremely slow and laborious in setting the context & you feel much a part of the situation & begin to empathise with the key characters in the movie. And therein lies the charm of this movie - in exposing our television conditioned minds to aspects of life we barely knew existed. Worth a watch, only if slow and offbeat films is your genre of interest.
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