Rating: 
Summary: Subtle and Slow yet very Satisfying
Review: A great movie with no computer gimmicks or muti-million dollar elusion. Just a good old down to earth type of movie that has a slow start and an abrupt ending but all for a good reason.
After all it's not just another movie we're used to seeing. If you are looking for some sexaully, action packed oriented movie then you're knocking on the wrong door. This movie is an eye opener and will most likely make you cherish your life a little more, and look at it from a different angle. Sometimes we physically do things and tire out muscles we didn't even know we had. Well this movie will evoke feelings you've never felt. so if you're the macho type pass on this movie, and if you have patience then this movie is a viture.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull as ditchwater and about as deep.
Review: A large portion of the running time of A Taste of Cherry--perhaps the majority--is footage of a guy driving around in his car. You think I'm kidding? Watch the movie, I dare you. You will say "holy cow, that guy was right." I have a high tolerance for movies that are slowly paced--if they're actually interesting. This film is not. I thought that a man trying to find someone to help him commit suicide was a good premise for a film. This movie proved me wrong. It is boring and trite. The cinematography is dull. The dialogue is dull. The words of the wise old taxidermist sound like they were written by a college kid trying to be deep. I really hate the word "pretentious," but this movie earns it. Did I mention the interminable "waiting for the security guard to make the guy some tea" scene?
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY A MASTERPIECE
Review: A magnificient movie that tries to express the crisis of the human race at the end of the 20 Century. It's so simple in structure and so deep that not so many people could understand the greatness of Abbas Kiarostami's form of expression. For me, it is the best movie of the decade. It talks about the essencial things in life and the way films should be. He states a new form of Cinema thats so deep in content as any Tarkovsky's film. It's simply Cimematic Poetry.
Rating:
Summary: The taste of life... the taste of cherry
Review: A man drives throughout the slums of Tehran, trying to find a man that agrees to burry him, after his suicide. This is the starting point of this rare movie gem, a masterpiece of auteur cinema and a profound reflection on the Human nature. As a moviemaker, Abbas Kiarostami is well regarded in Europe as one of the great directors from the asian continent, together with the great japanese directors and the indian Satyajit Ray. The Palme D'Or that he received in the Cannes Film Festival is a proof of the profound recongnizement that the europeans have for him. It looks like that in the USA, the first contact with this outstanding moviemaker is becoming rather frutuous,demonstrating that auteur cinema is appreciated everywhere. Without a great budget, Kiarostami managed to create a work that emerges directly from the depths of our soul, placing the problem of suicide before different persons of different religions and cultural roots. The rather harsh atmosphere of the movie, together with the magnificent performance of Homayon Ershadi, the main actor, make this a memmorable work, a piece of fine tapestry in the world of modern filmaking. I can only find simmilarities with Kiarostami, in the works of greek directos Theo Angelopoulos, specialy in his masterpiece "Eternity and a day", both directors that create portrayals of the human soul, their specificities, conflicts and problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully engaging--but falls apart at the end
Review: A man, seemingly sincere in his efforts, drives through Iran, looking for someone to assist him in his efforts to commit suicide. During his "terminal journey," we meet a cross-section o f his culture, some willing to help, others not. But in the end, we learn it's all a sham, a failm making exercise--a bit like the 3rd grader's conclusion to a nightmare scenario: "And then the alarm clock awoke me."
Rating:
Summary: SMALL SENSE OF HOPE
Review: Abbas Kiarostami is probably Iran's best known director, and this film is a good example of why. A deftly handled and sensitive tale of a sensitive subject... the contemplation of suicide. The tale is set in modern day Tehran, and it slowly follows the story of a relatively successful man who drives around, and as the viewer learns, is searching for someone who will help him to kill himself. He meets a succession of individuals and discusses his plans with them. Each man provides his own thoughts on the subject, all ultimately refusing to go along with the plan. The story is a bit difficult and pointless to describe. The bleakness of the subject matter is best described by the film itself. In the end you will feel a small sense of hope.
Rating: 
Summary: This film is disappointing and overrated.
Review: After reading the critical reviews by the professionals on this movie, I expected far more than it delivered. It took far too long just to figure out what the main character was up to (help in his suicide attempt). Living in the SF Bay area, it came across at first as a homosexual pickup. The director spent far too much time filming a dirt road in barren hills both from inside and outside the car. When the main character found somebody to help him, the other man was just suddenly there and we never saw an introductory encounter. And then, at the end, the story suddenly became the filming of the same story. Why? All in all, it was underwhelming and pretentious and certainly filmed cheaply. The emperor has no clothes!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films of the 90's.
Review: After watching this, I couldn't believe that I'd read so many reviews where people called this film boring. I don't get that. This was as far away from boring as you can get. Slow, yes, okay, fine, alright, but boring it is not. Besides, why shouldn't some movies be slow? It completely suits the purpose of the film. Anyhow, Taste of Cherry is easily one of the best films of the 90's in my opinion, and with an ending that is one of the most original, daring, provocative endings to a film that I've seen in a long time. A lot of people have reacted strongly against this point...I think they were looking at it the wrong way, perhaps not understanding -why- Kiarostami did this. I don't know...but it blew my mind. Anyhow...this is beautiful, passionate, moving filmmaking and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Just like life
Review: Although not for the casual viewer of thoughtful films, Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry is a brilliant work and deserves the praise it's received from critics. Perhaps his unadorned style, the long quiet shots, the pauses, and his preoccupation with the ambiguities and dusty roads of his main character's crisis is off-putting to some, but the technique is the perfect vehicle for conveying that crisis. The telling of his story may also reveal something about the state of contemporary Iran, about its culture, but I certainly don't think that was Kiarostami's primary intent - it's about this character's despair, his resignation. It's that universal element that makes the film so compelling. We don't know why he wants to die and it's not important. We're made aware of the state of his despair, a thing in itself, some consuming delusion perhaps, but very real and beyond a particular culture. Finally, the unsatisfactory explanation of his motives and the film's either brilliant or exasperating ending are perfectly in keeping with the tone and nature of the film and of the essential theme. Our expectations may be undermined because no one satisfactory answer is provided - just like life - but to me it could end no other way.
Rating:
Summary: This film should be appreciated
Review: As I read the reviews of this film, I found there are two groups of viewers, one appreciated the film, the other finds it boring and tedious. I like this film, and I always find this kind of film fascinating. It is the kind of film that can be appreciated in more than one way, just like Fellini's "8 1/2" and Bergman's "The 7th Seal". Okay, maybe it is not as thought-provoking as "The 7th Seal" and not as artistically-peculiar as the "8 1/2", but it's thorouly simple and warm. The whole film is teaching its audience the simplest difference between being alive and dead, which is that living a life is supposed to be enjoyable and valuable. Knowing such simple truth, however, takes the main character over 50 years (he looks like 50-ish to me), and takes us, the audience, 101 minutes (if you appreciate this film), and it is absolutely worth it. How often do we see a unique film like this? And how often do we REALLY find life enjoyable and valuable? See this film, if once doesn't help ya, try twice, and hopefully you'll find its beauty.
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