Film: 10 On Ten
Year of production: 2004
UK Release date: 27th June 2011
Distributor: Artificial Eye
Certificate: 15
Running time: 88 mins
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Iran/France
Language: Persian/English
Review by: Karen Rogerson
Released as part of The Abbas Kiarostami Collection. Award-winning director, Abbas Kiarostami delivers a masterclass in film direction, revealing the techniques underlying his artfully artless filmmaking. The documentary focuses on his 2002 work 10, a film which showcases the hyper realism which is Kiarostami’s signature style.
The documentary retains the same pared down minimalism as 10, being entirely shot within a car while Kiarostami addresses the camera directly. Delivered in the style of a lecture, Kiarostami’s talk is divided into ten sections, covering crucial aspects of filmmaking, such as the role of the camera, script, location, music, actors and director.
Kiarostami describes how he attempts to minimise the artificial impact of the technical traditions of filmmaking, techniques which can impair telling the naturalistic stories for which he is renowned. Digital camera or video is favoured instead of “artistic” cinematography. Music is rarely used, as this can manipulate the audience’s reactions to move or excite, like “picking pockets in the dark.” Kiarostami favours using a large number of non-professional actors, both to give flesh and voice to his characters and to avoid a contrived style of acting. Simple locations – his preferred one being the interior of a car – are used to allow the film to focus upon the characters without distraction.
Kiarostami is clearly keen that his role as director is not that of a critical and controlling presence, but one who enables his characters to tell their stories with the minimum of interference, without the distraction of superfluities, such as a literary narrative voiceover or unnecessary visual flourishes. In his conclusion, Kiarostami warns students not to disregard the formula of American cinema. Hollywood’s success has enabled American films to dominate cinema throughout the world, so despite his obvious distaste for the Hollywood formula, he advises that it shouldn’t be taken lightly or disregarded...
The documentary raises some useful insights into filmmaking. It’s difficult not to be aware, when watching mainstream cinema, of the methods which are often lazily used to manipulate audience reaction and distract from the absence of any real substance. Crassly overblown music makes films laughable when it’s disproportionate to the emotional impact of what’s actually going on onscreen. Big budget special effects don’t compensate for overlooking a decent script or a good cast. As Kiarostami comments, the absence of complicated technical equipment or special effects can free filmmaking from the shackles of capital and censorship, in an industry where production and distribution backing figure so largely that it determines whether a film gets widespread viewing, or gets made at all.
By contrast to the Hollywood machine, Kiarostami adopts an almost punk ethos in his filmmaking, where a lack of technical sophistication – all the skills needed to film are contained in a digital camera, he says – helps to minimise the artificiality of the process. This type of film undoubtedly has an important place and it’s a natural reaction to the out of control commercialism that’s produced so many sub-standard sequels and poor English language remakes of far superior European originals.
Interesting as Kiarostami’s ideas are, they overlook the fact that more metaphorical modes of filmmaking can also depict a kind of truth. Visual art and literature moved away from naturalism and linear narrative in the early 20th century to exploring different ways of representing reality – whether through the fractured planes of Cubism, the emotional intensity of Expressionism, or the interior dreamscapes of surrealism. Film became a popular medium at the same time, and filmmakers have never shied away from the opportunities it offers to present human existence in more experimental ways. Kiarostami’s recreations of everyday dialogue and situations may ape reality, but that doesn’t mean that the expressionism of directors such as Terence Malick or the surrealism of Luis Buñuel can’t be equally valid ways of expressing the experience of human consciousness. As Kiarostami admits, he is a self taught director, and his principles may not be for all, but they certainly contribute an important insight into his own methods for creating films with artistic integrity and serious intention.
An interesting watch for any film student, but a little dry for anyone who isn’t, Kiarostami talks intelligently and persuasively about the ethos behind his work. Any filmmaker, particularly those drawn towards the low tech and improvisational approach used by directors such as Mike Leigh, should find food for thought in Kiarostami’s methods, even if the pared down naturalism of his work may not be enjoyable for all audiences. KR
No comments:
Post a Comment