#Khane-ye Doust Kodjast

[dannyreviews]

Where is the Friend's Home? (Khane-ye doust kodjast?) (1987)

A characteristic that is lacking in mainstream Hollywood films is a plot that is so simply told, but excites you at the same time. Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where Is the Friend’s House?” involves a basic goal that expands into a 80 minute character study about what it takes to maintain selflessness at a young age and the finished product is one of world cinema’s hidden secrets.

On a somewhat uneventful day in a school classroom, Mohamed Reda (Ahmed Ahmed Poor) is scolded for repeatedly misplacing his notebook and is warned that he will be expelled if he does so one more time. By accident, his classmate and good friend Ahmed (Babek Ahmed Poor) takes Mohamed’s notebook and is desperate to return it to him to prevent his friend’s expulsion. What transpires is an arduous journey that Ahmed undertakes to find Mohamed’s home on the other side of town which will take him up stairs, hills and strangers’ backyards. 

This film isn’t solely about Ahmed’s journey, but about his fellow countrymen’s everyday tasks as well. Kiarostami weaves these two storylines side by side with the right plot devices and overlapping dialogue. For example, there’s a scene involving a business transaction between two strangers over the installation of doors on one of their houses. At first, you wonder what the purpose of this scene is, and then the sewing of both stories come together when Ahmed reappears and the builder asks if he could tear a page from Mohamed’s notebook to draw up the contract. So at the same time, you see Ahmed’s selfless act and what he’ll most likely grow up to be in his adult years, continuing his selfless ways to help his fellow man. 

“Where is the Friend's House?” is also a throwback to other films like “The Red Balloon” and “The Bicycle Thieves” that utilize the motif of a child fending for themselves in the streets. At the same time, it incorporates the theme of child actors acting like regular children that was previously done in “The 400 Blows”, “Forbidden Games” and “Spirit Of The Beehive” and later on in “Au Revoir, Les Enfants” “Cinema Paradiso” and “Ponette”. The result is a Venn Diagram of a film where the main story is the world through the eyes of a child who wants to make a man of himself, taking the lessons of his teacher and grandfather to heart, even doing something as foolish as running from home to unchartered lands to help a friend in need. The common bond between all these films is that they are non-Hollywood foreign language gems. American films are too caught up in stupid characters, cheesy CGI, convoluted stories and  unnecessary subplots that are incorporated into remakes and monotonous superhero franchises. I have yet to wait for an American director to focus on a linear story that may seem boring on paper, but grabs the viewer’s attention nonstop as if you’re in the character’s shoes. This film is more reality than some of the garbage that passes as “reality” television.

The Ahmed Poor brothers who play Ahmed and Mohamed are excellent from the very beginning. The very first scene tugs at your heartstrings when Ahmed’s Mohamed is crying in class as he’s threatened with being expelled from school. He’s only a little kid and yet the weight of responsibility overwhelms him. I can remember seeing classmates of mine cry in school when confronted with similar issues and seeing that crying on screen brought me back to those halcyon days. Then you have Ahmed, whose presence takes up 95% of the film, and his determination is on full display. Babek’s Ahmed manages to stick to his innocence without coming off as overly cute. He may be a grammar school student, but he has the grit and drive of an adult. Not many films can pull off having a child act like him or herself without being nauseatingly annoying. The Ahmed Poor brothers were naturals to be in front of the camera and did not disappoint.

Unfortunately, Iran did not submit a film to the Academy Awards Foreign Film category in the year of this film’s release. By missing out of being in the running, “Where Is the Friend’s House?” could have been more widely seen by American audiences and the film wound up debuting at the American film festival circuit 6 years later, well too late for Oscar consideration. Despite that, Kiarostami won awards at the Fajr and Locarno Festivals in 1987 and 1989 respectively. As of now, the film is #2 on MUBI’s Top 1000 Films list, one up from “The Godfather”, an impressive feat. So 35 years later, this masterpiece is getting the reception it richly deserves.

9.5/10

#dannyreviews #where is the friend's house? #abbas kiarostami #iran #persia #persian #ahmed ahmed poor #babek hamed poor #children in film #homework #notebook #khane-ye doust kodjast? #world cinema #international film #foreign film

[randomrichards]

WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE?

Boy walks through villages

To return classmate’s notebook

What he does for friends

#where is the friend’s house #random richards #poem #haiku #poetry #haiku poem #poets on tumblr #haiku poetry #haiku form #poetic #haiku on tumblr #criterion collection #Khane-ye doust Kodjast? #Babek Ahmed Poor #Khodabakhsh Defaei #Iran Outari #Ait Ansari #abbas kiarostami #Ahmed Ahmed Poor #Youtube

[frnndlcs]

Khane-ye doust kodjast?, Abbas Kiarostami, 1987

#khane-ye doust kodjast? #abbas kiarostami #where is my friend’s house? #where is the friend's house?

[silverapplesonthemoon]

Khane-ye doust kodjast? Abbas Kiarostami, 1987

#abbas kiarostami #Where Is the Friend's House?

[filmes-online-facil]

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E a Vida Continua - Filmes Online Fácil

Um diretor de vinema e seu filho retornam a uma região atingida pelo terremoto de Guilan, na esperança de encontrar as crianças que apareceram em seu filme alguns anos antes. Após o terremoto de Guilan, o diretor de cinema e seu filho Puya viajam para a área devastada para procurar os atores do filme que o diretor fez lá alguns anos atrás, Khane-ye Doust Kodjast? (1987). Em sua busca, eles descobrem como as pessoas que perderam tudo no terremoto ainda têm esperança e tentam viver a vida ao máximo. (e 12 - Estimado 12 Anos)

[mytypeofdistraction]

Where is My Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)

#Khane-ye Doust Kodjast #where is the friend house #where is my friend house #where is my friend home #where is the friend home #onde fica a casa do meu amigo #abbas kiarostami #1987 #80s #iran

[aschenblumen]

Planos de Khane-ye doust kodjast? (1987), de Abbas Kiarostami.

#abbas kiarostami #khane-ye doust kodjast #where is the friend's home

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Films watched in 2020.

54: Where is My Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)

★★★★★★★★☆☆

“Children must obey their parents.”

#Films watched in 2020 #Where is My Friend’s House? #abbas kiarostami #ocho #Where Is the Friend's House? #Where Is My Friend's Home? #kiarostami #1987 #Where Is the Friend's Home? #Babek Ahmed Poor #Ahmed Ahmed Poor #childhood #drama #poverty #Khane-ye Doust Kodjast #family

[bilinmeyenada]

Khane-ye doust kodjast? (1987), Abbas Kiarostami

#film #movie #khane-ye doust kodjast? #where is the friend's home #abbas kiarostami

[ogaminna]

Khane-Ye Doust Kodjast? (1987, Abbas Kiarostami)

#Abbas Kiarostami #where is my friend's home? #1987 #onde fica a casa do meu amigo? #[Hidef] Onde Fica A Casa Do Meu Amigo? / Khane-Ye Doust Kodjast? (1987)

[hiddenfilmgem]

Where Is The Friend’s Home? (1987)

An 8 year old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

#film #films #Persian #Iran #Iranian film #Iranian cinema #Abbas Kiarostami #Babek Ahmed Poor #Ahmed Ahmed Poor #Where Is The friend's home #Khane-ye doust kodjast? #Drama #Drama film #Children #childhood #underrated films #hidden gem #hidden gems #films to watch #must see films #movie recommendations #underrated #underrated cinema #cinema #Persian cinema #Persian film

[moviecinepelis]

#where is my friend's house? #khane-ye doust kodjast? #abbas kiarostami #five stars

[jvrde]

It is another Kiarostami movie that affected me a lot. I have never watched that much impressive film that emphasizes ‘’innocence of kids heart’’. Considering the 1980′s standards, techniques used in the film, and the way director indicates the story was successful. Unlike Taste of Cherry, it is more dynamic and attracts people into the story in the first moment.

#abbas kiarostami #khane-ye doust kodjast?

[frnndlcs]

Khane-ye doust kodjast?, Abbas Kiarostami, 1987

#khane-ye doust kodjast? #abbas kiarostami #where is my friend’s house? #where is the friend's house?

[artfilmfan]

Where is the Friend's Home? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)

#ait ansari #khane-ye doust kodjast? #abbas kiarostami #where is the friend's home #iranian cinema #iran #persian

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E a Vida Continua - Filmes Online Fácil

Um diretor de vinema e seu filho retornam a uma região atingida pelo terremoto de Guilan, na esperança de encontrar as crianças que apareceram em seu filme alguns anos antes. Após o terremoto de Guilan, o diretor de cinema e seu filho Puya viajam para a área devastada para procurar os atores do filme que o diretor fez lá alguns anos atrás, Khane-ye Doust Kodjast? (1987). Em sua busca, eles descobrem como as pessoas que perderam tudo no terremoto ainda têm esperança e tentam viver a vida ao máximo. (e 12 - Estimado 12 Anos)