For those unfamiliar with the works of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, his latest, "The Wind Will Carry Us," will probably seem pretty daunting and perhaps even a bit confusing.
In fact, even those who have seen some of Kiarostami's sometimes bizarre but fascinating films (such as 1998's acclaimed "A Taste of Cherry") may be somewhat perplexed by this oddity, which seems to defy categorization upon initial inspection.
At first, it appears to be yet another neo-realistic, pseudo-documentary (the veteran director helped pioneer that filmmaking trend, which is currently dominating the cinema of his home country). And then when it finally settles into a storytelling groove, becoming what appears to be a rather enigmatic mystery, the plot heads in a different direction altogether.
Here's what can be gleaned from the film, though: It's possible to interpret it as a meditation on the states of life and death, as well as a sociological treatise (or is that a culture-clash comedy?) on the contrasts between modern-day society and simpler civilizations.
And though that might not sound like especially compelling material, it's treated with a surprising amount of humor and tenderness. The main character of the film is an unnamed engineer (Behzad Dourani).
He and his (mostly) unseen crew have been sent to the remote village of Siah Dareh, which has been set directly into the hillside, "so no one can steal it," according to one of the locals (Farzad Sohrabi), a young schoolboy who's acting as a guide.
Speaking of the villagers, few if any of them know why the engineer has been sent there, but they still treat him and the others as honored guests. However, they gradually realize that he is discreetly observing a 100-year-old villager with failing health.
With at least a slight understanding of the engineer's mysterious mission, they then begin to observe him as he slowly becomes more and more frustrated — thanks to the woman's miraculous ability to cling to life.
As he's done with his most recent films, here Kiarostami uses almost a full cast of "authentic" amateurs — in this case, the real villagers of Siah Dareh, who include charming newcomer Sohrabi.
But despite the fact that Dourani is the only "professional" actor of the bunch, and the fact that Mahmoud Kalari's no-frills camera work looks deceptively simple, it's a remarkably accomplished piece that gets better the more you think about it.
Some of that can be attributed to Kiarostami's thoughtful screenplay, which extensively employs Iranian poetry and writings, and which has a lot of sly humor (including the fact that the villagers view the increasingly clueless engineer with amusement).
"The Wind Will Carry Us" is not rated but contains nothing objectionable. It would probably receive a PG for its discussions of weighty life matters. Running time: 113 minutes.
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