24 Frames review: Abbas Kiarostami’s posthumous work screens at the 70th Festival de Cannes as part of its 70th birthday celebrations.
24 Frames review by Paul Heath at the 2017 Festival de Cannes.
24 Frames review
Presented at the 70th Cannes Film Festival as part of their anniversary celebrations, is Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s final work, completed after his death, the post-production overseen by his son Ahmad. The film, a passion project from the director who brought us the likes of Close Up and Taste Of Cherry, appears as a special event is split into 24 separate chunks, each one represented by a different photograph. The filmmaker’s intention is show the events leading up to the point in which the photo was taken, and indeed the moments afterwards, no one the same but each one as impactful in their own way.
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The film opens with Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s 1565 masterpiece “The Hunters in the Snow,” a number of people gazing over a village surrounded by dogs. Of course, this being the work of an accomplished filmmaker, the image starts to come to life, the dogs seen circling the men in the image, running around and even peeing against a tree. We’re effectively seeing what Kiarostami envisages as happening before and after – the screen artist interpreting for us as we gaze, such a novel and original approach. Following this is a second image of a cow seen to be asleep on a beach, his peers sauntering past his as he grabs some ‘Zs’. We can see the waves crashing onto the shoreline right on front of him, the passing cows suddenly beginning to speed up. This continues until we see a final bovine stop and prod the cow until he wakes and takes off, just seconds before the tide eventually sweeps in for the day. Then, we simply fade to black and move on to the next one.
24 Frames review
This sequence continues another 22 times – thus making up the 24 Frames of the title – a series of captures that are both hypnotic, soothing and utterly engrossing. Nature is involved in the work and Kiarostami’s stamp is all over it. Very much a perfect swan-song, 24 Frames‘ prominence at the 70th Cannes is a truly wonderful goodbye, a tantalising sculpture of pure cinema that reflects the iconic work of Iran’s most famous film-making son.
Not so much a movie, but an immersive experience nonetheless standing out on its own at a sun-drenched festival where its filmmaker regularly shone.
24 Frames review by Paul Heath, May 2017.
24 Frames screened at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival as part of its 70th anniversary celebrations.
