By casting local residents who experienced the actual earthquake, Kiarostami injects raw, authentic trauma and hope into the frame.
Hossein’s relentless, respectful pursuit of Tahereh between takes. Themes: Class, Tradition, and the Human Comedy The Rigidity of Social Class Through the olive trees- Abbas Kiarostami
He found Hossein, a local bricklayer with gentle eyes and a persistent spirit.He found Tahereh, a quiet girl who wore her trauma like a heavy wool cloak, her family lost to the earthquake. By casting local residents who experienced the actual
At its heart, the film is a two-person play about class, pride, and illiteracy. Hossein is a charming tornado of logic. He argues that because he is an orphan who works, and she has lost her parents in the earthquake, they are now equals. He argues that because he can read a few words, he is practically an intellectual. He argues that a house is just a house, but a shared life is everything. He never stops talking. At its heart, the film is a two-person
Through the Olive Trees was screened in competition at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, cementing Kiarostami's reputation as a world-class visionary. The film encapsulates the essence of the Iranian New Wave: the use of non-professional actors, poetic realism, rural settings, and a profound philosophical undercurrent hidden beneath a simple premise.