bibimcbibi ... but very, very slow. There was so much potential, I was very disappointed with its lack of depth or pace. I'm sure it meant to reflect the stagnation of the area in which it was made, but a workable movie needs more depth of characterisation in order to succeed. It would have benefited too from the female characters being given some real roles. Cinematography was also a little unsophisticated and could have made more of the incredible vistas available. There were, however, some nice performances, especially from the actors portraying the shopkeeper and the ambitious man. It also features what must surely be the world's most stoical donkey.

thisissubtitledmovies excerpt - Set in a northern province of Iran, with its racial mix of Turkmen, Persians, Kazakhs, Russians and Armenians, Frontier Blues depicts the lives of people in limbo, belonging to neither one country nor another, who seem to exist in a permanent state of transition.The film's pace is glacial, but its gentle and humorous observations, as well as the striking landscape of its setting, are enough to sustain interest for its modest hour-and-a-half duration. If you've ever uttered the words "but nothing ever happened" when leaving the cinema, it's probably one to avoid. For all that, it shows some skillful and delicate filmmaking, and it'll be interesting to see what Jalali does next.

oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx There is a debate raging in various august film organs at the moment about the merits/demerits of "slow cinema". Whatever your standpoint on the matter is, you should know that this is an example of the cycle. For myself, I watch Bergman and often hope that he will hold shots longer! Blues is the right word for what we've got here, but the men of the cast (the characters are almost entirely men) aren't utterly high and dry, and there's a goodly amount of drollery to be had. It's very important to recognise that each of the characters the films follows has someone that loves them (even if it's not the love they think they want), despite their reservoirs of ennui.There is prettiness to be had on the northern frontiers of Iran, the quality of light on the steppes, the Caspian sea. But these characters aren't there on holiday, and they are pretty much stuck in the Doldrums. In particular I think you keenly feel the lack of female presence in the movie, all the women seem to have had the sense to absent themselves from the congenital exile. Hassan is the funniest character, he has pebble glasses and a slack jaw, his hobby is collecting car number plates from different regions in Iran, and he claims to own several eucalyptus plantations. He pines for the mother he has only ever known from a photo, a beautiful lady who ran away to Paris when he was young. His sentimental connection with her is a tape of Françoise Hardy's "Tous les garçons et les filles"; which reminded me of my schooldays, when my French teacher for a year, a real Titania who kept us all behaving through the spell of her fey grace alone, used to play us her songs under some doubtlessly invented educational pretext.The stories aren't intersecting, and what we see is more a slice of life than traditional narrative. The director is careful to be as honest in his depictions as possible, and warns of the falsity of the Neorealist approach via a story of an ethnographic photographer from Tehran.A funny and deeply humanistic movie, as an oblique coda, I suggest that you bring a long a sachet of dried apricots to make an experience of it if this plays near you.

zeinadurra I saw this film at Locarno last year. It's an interesting film and a definite departure from the standard Iranian art-house fare which is refreshing. It's beautifully shot and the melange of humour and melancholy works well. First time director Babak Jalali offers us a look into the world of his native hometown in northern Iran on the border of Turkmenistan, which we would never have seen otherwise. It's a meditative, stylistic portrait of 4 men getting on with their lives, with nowhere to go and not much to look forward to. It does not fall into the trap of clichéd looks at the Middle East and manages instead to provide a heartfelt look at the human condition. It's opening in London this week and I would definitely try and catch it as it's the sort of film you have to see on the big screen.