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Blackboards

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Blackboards (2002)

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74 %
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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 25

Rotten:9

Average Rating: 6.8/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 85 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Dec 6, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: A group of male teachers crosses the mountainous paths of the remote Iranian Kurdistan region. Carrying large blackboards on their backs, they wander from village to village in search of students.... A group of male teachers crosses the mountainous paths of the remote Iranian Kurdistan region. Carrying large blackboards on their backs, they wander from village to village in search of students. The sudden menacing sound of overhead helicopters forces the men to run and seek refuge from an unseen enemy ... One teacher, Reeboir, ventures away from the group and confronts a group of adolescent boys who who dangerously transport contraband goods between Iran and Iraq.

Reeboir tries to convince the boys of the advantages of learning to read and write, but none of them are interested. There is no time for reading. They are too busy risking their lives to survive ... Said, another teacher also now traveling alone, arrives in a seemingly deserted village.

No one responds to his calls soliciting his services as a teacher. He persists, but is greeted only by slamming doors and windows ... Said later meets a group of 100 or so old men accompanied by a sole young woman and child. They, too, are closed and uninterested in learning.

Tired and hungry, the old men aimlessly continue their search to return to their native land to die in peace ... One of the old men feels he can only find peace if his young widowed daughter, Halaleh, marries before his death. Said has only his blackboard to offer in exchange for her hand iAfter the chemical bombing of Halabcheh in Iraq a number of Kurd refugee teachers seek for pupils who are willing to educate around the border as they carry their blackboards like Jesus’ crosses. One of them encounters a group of teenage smugglers and tries to convince them to educate as they carry their heavy backpacks full of smuggled stuff. The other teacher encounters a group of old and tired men, whom after years of migration are going to their own country to die there. But it seems that hunger and insecurity has not leftand chance for the education of the generations. -- © Kimstim [More]

Starring: Bahman Ghobadi, Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Rafat Moradi Kleur

Starring: Bahman Ghobadi, Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Rafat Moradi Kleur

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Screenwriter: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Producer: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Marco Muller
Composer: Mahamed Reza Darvishi
Studio: Kimstim

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 17, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Blackboards

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/01/09
David Stratton
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The entire film is saved by its periphery, where Makhamalbaf stops trying to teach us a lesson.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
11/04/06
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
09/17/05
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/13/05
Apollo Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Nation

It's a stunning lyrical work of considerable force and truth.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/08/03
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

...a poignant and powerful narrative that reveals that reading writing and arithmetic are not the only subjects to learn in life.

Full Review Source: Movie Magazine International | comment Comment
05/11/03
Moira Sullivan
Movie Magazine International

When I first saw Blackboards three years ago I was surprised as well as puzzled that in some ways it reminded me of John Ford's 1950 western Wagon Master.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/25/03
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A stark metaphor about diasporic people wandering aimlessly through rocky, desolate terrain, buffeted by unseen forces beyond their control.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
03/14/03
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

does paint some memorable images ..., but Makhmalbaf keeps her distance from the characters

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
02/09/03
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Reeboir varies between a sweet smile and an angry bark, while Said attempts to wear down possible pupils through repetition. It has no affect on the Kurds, but it wore me down.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
01/31/03
Erik Lundegaard
Seattle Times

The stripped-down dramatic constructs, austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics, obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/30/03
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

People cinema at its finest.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
01/30/03
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

That is essentially what's missing from Blackboards -- the sense of something bigger, some ultimate point.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/27/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A heartening tale of small victories and enduring hope.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/24/03
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like many Iranian filmmakers, Makhmalbaf prefers ambiguity to agitprop in her approach to politically contentious subject matter, but the results are still bracing and affecting.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/20/03
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

There's no denying the strength of these simple images, and the bleak message of learning to sort out your real priorities in times of strife.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
01/17/03
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An ambitious and moving but bleak film.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/17/03
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

A selection of scenes in search of a movie.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
01/17/03
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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