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Films  ›  Abbas Kiarostami

Through the Olive Trees (1994)

Film
DirectorAbbas Kiarostami
Meta takes0

Figures

Characters
  • The character of the director, who constantly asks questions but provides no answers.
Objects & symbols
  • The recurring motif of the zigzag path up the hill.
Locations
  • The film's depiction of the post-earthquake landscape.
Form & technique
  • The overall narrative structure blending on-screen fiction with off-screen 'reality'.
  • The courtship narrative between an illiterate man (Hossein) and a literate woman (Tahereh).
Tropes
  • The recurring audition scenes for the roles of the newlyweds.
  • The director's interactions with Hossein, coaching and questioning him.
  • The film's self-reflexive layering (a film about making a film based on a previous film).
  • The final, long, ambiguous take of Hossein following Tahereh.
  • Hossein's persistent, public marriage proposals to the silent Tahereh.
  • The long takes of mundane conversations and actions, such as Hossein discussing concrete quality.
  • The contrast between the non-actors' "real" emotions and their scripted performances.