SESSION 98, ILLEGAL_CINEMA

Screening of The Nine-Colored Deer and Where is the Friend’s House? proposed by Estéfana Román Matesanz and Camilo Tonon, followed by discussion.

The Nine-Colored Deer (Qian Jiajun, Dai Tielang, 1981, 30’)
Nature here is something else, an opaque, black object with a white strip, which could be a bowl if it wasn’t for the tentacles like extremities that turn it into a fruit.
A man approaches the shore.
A white deer (supposed to be nine-coloured) is holding a branch with seven bees and one or two ants on it.
The mountains melt for a moment – three seconds, to be exact.
Nothing happens to the man until he puts his leg in the water.

Where is the Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, 83’)
Everything seems to be close by in Iran, whether crossing a mountainside, as slow as a donkey, or running, it depends on how much of a hurry you’re in. Responsibility rules in this film, and companionship and empathy accompany the plot.
The slowness of the shots adds complexity to the painterly setting. The story is always present, but gets lost among the houses and the twilight.
Persistence above all things, to get to heaven is no easy task.

Estéfana Román Matesanz (2000). Shoe size 37 1/2, trousers 36, dark brown hair, black eyes and freckles.
Camilo Tonon (1997). Brown eyes, shoe size 42, trousers 30, brown hair and dark eyes with glasses.
We sometimes work together and nearly always have similar tastes and affinities.