This film suffers from the video presentation, shown because the negative was confiscated by the authorities. Censorship was excercised on the grounds of content which is unforgiveble instead of on the grounds of taste which would have been a mercy. The story is told in the style of Bresson with the major dramatic action taking place off camera. Bresson was much more careful about what he did show us. What we see here is mostly dull; wind, sand and rocks, a muted landscape (due to the poor video quality) with actors faces covered or in shadow. If the picture quality was good when on film, we can only imagine what it might have looked like, but then why not imagine the whole film and not waste the time.
2 Reviews
A very good movie
Lo_so13 April 2004
I cannot accept that this is a dull film. Instead, I found it is an excellent one, even better than Samira Makhmalbaf's "At Five in the Afternoon" and Peter Mullen's "Madeleine Sisters". The filmmaker express the evil of fundamentalism only in a very subtle manner, but when the story developed, the audience would follow the executioner, who was a follower in the film, to question the fundamentalism. And the 12 minutes long take in the opening is wonderful too!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
