Simple and profound, unintentionally poetic

Kameron 2022-01-21 08:02:41

Abbas is one of the most poets among all poets and directors. Unlike Tarkovsky's intellectuals, he is as simple as the soil on the Iranian land, and as simple as the ancient wind on the hills. Abbas, who was born in painting, is born with the artist's ability to eliminate cumbersome and restore simplicity, or to be more precise, he still retains his innocence in nature.
The Lover under the Olive Tree is an earlier work by Abbas, without the slightest pretentiousness or fancy, just like the director in the film tirelessly let the hero and heroine come back again and again, he just quietly uses the camera to record the bit of life in life. Great beauty. The use of the lens is also beyond the reach. He can capture every fleeting detail with a long lens, but never waste a second on things that have nothing to do with the subject. His movies express beauty every second, they are all poetry.
Real artists never express life deliberately, they just show life as it is. The director in the film is the shadow of Abbas himself, humble and kind, caring for children and mourning women, he himself is the incarnation of beauty.
The story itself is simple but touching. The boy who had never gone to school fell in love with a girl who likes to read. When making a movie, the two unexpectedly acted as a husband and wife. They only said a few lines upstairs and downstairs, but they gave the boy great hope. During a shooting, the young man took the opportunity to confess that there was nothing more moving than this. I don't want my children to live by building houses like me in the future. After getting married, I am willing to take care of the housework. I will bring it to you when the meal is done. You can continue to read your book. In Iran, where men are inferior to women, such an idea is rare.
However, the director did not give the ending of the story. He has been encouraging the young man from the side, and the film fades away from time to time as the two men and women are chasing after one another in the olive grove. Whether you love it or not, everyone in the Abbas movie is extremely pure, without any scum.
As the director, Abbas also painted and illustrated for children. His films seem to see the world through the eyes of children. From their pure eyes, they see the complex ugliness and embarrassment of the adult world.

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Extended Reading

Through the Olive Trees quotes

  • Hossein: Mam, I'm really sorry. I want to do everything you ask me, but I won't do masonry. I don't work in construction anymore. I came to act in your film. I will work as an actor, but not as a mason.