We’ve heard of films within a film, but it’s crazy how many layers Through the Olive Trees operates in. Writer-director Abbas Kiarostami completes his metanarrative journey in the Koker trilogy through a slice-of-life comedy about a couple in the periphery of the previous installment And Life Goes On. As the young man Hossein repeats his plea for marriage to Tahereh, casted as his wife, the insistence can be slightly grating, but in doing so, the everyday dealings of the Iranian village hint at what’s underneath– the earthquake from four years ago that still shapes their lives, the socioeconomic and culture barriers, and the mirrored struggle of creating the artistic vision of the film within the film.
Synopsis
Complications arise in a director's attempt to film a scene in Life, and Nothing more... (1992).
Storyline
During the production of a film, the local stonemason-turned-male lead pines for the woman cast as his wife, much to the dismay of the director caught in the middle.
TLDR
It’s absolutely ridiculous yet brilliant to make a film, and then to make another film make the previous one fictional, and then to make a film centered on a pair of characters in the film that makes the first film fictional.
What stands out
The ambiguous ending. In ending the film this way, Kiarostami puts the answer up in the air, but also frees both the audience and Tahereh to give their true response, one that’s unburdened by cultural norms, peer pressure, and saving face, something that is only possible alone and at a distance.