Blackboards (2000)

Samira Makhmalbaf is the director of Blackboards /Takhté siah (2000). It's a simple, yet politically conscious, film much in the same style as the two other films I have seen by her, The Apple and At five in the afternoon. All three films showcase great acting and many poignant scenes, driven by very simple, close-to-life dialogue. In Blackboards, the main characters are two teachers, Said and Reeboir, who trudge the craggy border area of Iran and Iraq. The story takes place during the Iran-Iraq war. They look for students whom they can teach how to write. They are Kurds and what we get a glimpse into in this film is Kurdish people who have fled their homes, and who intends to return. The teachers hooks up with a group of elderly people, and another group of children carrying goods on their backs. They persist in offering them their services, as teachers and in Said's case, guiding the group of elderly people to the border. The film mostly depicts their perilous journey among the hills. They are in constant fear of border military who aims gunfire at them. Makhmalbaf really has an eye for people and social interaction. She creates amazingly intimate scenes by elucidating the specific occasion. An ailing old man needs to pee but is unable to do that, other men carrying him by each arm and encouraging him to pee. Said approaches every kid he sees with the question, "can you read"? The kids are smart and do not trust this stranger. Suddenly, Said is married to a woman in the group. The woman is not interested. What is atypical and great about Blackboards is how quickly and successfully it manages to introduce its characters. But not by painting with broad streaks, by means of dramatic entrances or eccentric behavior. Characters are established in sensitively written dialogue, in which everything is of importance, even annoying repetitive questions and even things like peeing and eating nuts.