Baran

Rating:
Summary: Majidi's Best
Review: This is my favorite of Majidi's movies. It combines the sweetness and gentleness of his Children of Heaven (1987)with an objective look at lower and lower middle class Iranian society, and the impact of the infusion of immigrant Afghani workers into that mix. It also shows, and this is probably going to be lost on the most Western viewers (it certainly was for me until I visited Majidi's website), some of the underlying tensions between Iranians of different backgrounds. Among the groups represented are Kurds, Azeris, and Lurs.
One of the things that makes this film so touching is how the main character, Lateef, is transformed from a shirking, irresponsible and selfish young boy into a man through his love and sympathy for a young Afghani refugee, Baran. Although it may sound unusual that this love affair develops with perhaps no more than five or six words spoken between Baran and Lateef, what happens on screen seems completely understandable and convincing.
There is one extremely powerful and startling image that Majidi uses towards the end of the movie that represents the untranscendable social division between the two. That is the snapping of Baran's burkha over her head as she and Lateef part for the last time. Never has that particular symbol seemed so intrusive and unfair in a film to me before. This time it was not for any political or religious reasons. Rather it was especially cruel because it divided Baran from Lateef permanently.

Rating:
Summary: Eros and Agape
Review: This is not really a story about the plight of Afghan refugees in Iran. That makes it sound as earnest and boring as a report from a parliamentary committee or a term paper from a sociology student. This is a love story, and one of extraordinary power and depth. It examines the lives of a man and a woman, both living on the margins of their society. They never exchange so much as a word or a touch, let alone body fluids, but love transforms them both. Eros and Agape both triumph in this marvellously shot and understated film.

Rating:
Summary: "Baran" more like "Boring"
Review: This movie sucks. It is one of the most boring movie I've ever watched. Sure, the romantic part was sweet, but everything else dragged on and there's not much meaning in the movie. When the movie ended I was like what? that's how it ends? I was disappointed with the ending and thought watching the movie was a big waste of time. I don't understand why the other customer reviewers thought this movie was so great, what's the big deal?