i knew i had finally found a director whose work i liked and could relate to when i watched "And life goes on"during this film festival in Kolkata.it was lucidity i was on the look out for and clearly ALGO fit my bill with startling precision.

watching "Taste of cherry" today only helped me confirm my convictions pertaining to Kiarostami and his work.for a man whose work largely throws light on the mundane existence of the Iranian people set across an arid landscape,its intriguing how Kiarostami manages to celebrate everyday living with such impeccable style and finesse.

i had noted it then and i noted it today too how Kiarostami effortlessly weaves a story around nondescript entities and shows how something as commonplace as a drive along the terrains of a dry desert can become so captutring and gripping so much that there comes a time when you start thinking as though you have been sucked into a process,although involuntarily,that now has become too engrossing to let go.

the camera mostly shoots from inside the car,positioned either beside the protagonist(the driver) or behind him.but occassionally when the drive across dry vegetation and mounds of dust becomes monotonous to the point of evoking acute claustrophobia,the camera pans on the broader panorama of Iranian topography.

Kiarostami evidently is unconventional in his making.but appreciably he doesnt do it on the face, or blatantly,so to speak.the subtlety conveniently seeps within and only surfaces when you are contemplating the film in solitude.

for me that is where his charm lies.its comparitively simpler to engage viewers' attention when the plot is sufficiently gnarled.the challenge possibly lies in elevating a simple storyline to the rank of some of the greatest films.

that's what Abbas Kiarostami does with such panache.

that's what sets 'The Man' a class apart.