“Where Is the Friend's House?``Kiarostami's movie magic that directed ``Amateur Actor''

Kiarostami style children's production techniques

The best friends in the movie are played by real brothers living in the village, with the older brother Babak playing Ahmad and the younger brother Ahmad playing Mohammad Reza. Other roles were selected through lengthy auditions. In any case, I wonder how director Kiarostami was able to instruct and direct people who had no experience in acting, let alone what it was like to shoot a movie.

There is a book that is the key to unlocking the secret. “ And the Movie Continues ” was published in Japan in 1994. This is a book published in Iran called “Where Is the Friend's House?” A book that has been re-edited uniquely by Japan, based on the making-of book. The film's scenario, detailed filming notes written by assistant director Pour Ahmad, and Kiarostami's writings are all compiled together, and the magic of Kiarostami's direction is surprisingly beautifully depicted.

“Where Is the Friend's House?” (C) 1987 KANOON

There is a famous story about Kiarostami's techniques for directing children. This story is about a certain punishment that was meted out to the boy who played the role of Mohammad Reza, who was scolded by his teacher and couldn't perform a tearful play. Before filming began, the director and staff colluded to perform a play in front of the boy. First, he secretly presents the boy with a photo taken by the art director and whispers in his ear, ``Don't let the assistant director find out. If he finds out you gave him the photo, he'll get very angry.'' This instills anxiety in the boy. Then, during the actual production, the assistant director immediately spots the photo the boy is holding, screams in anger, and tears it to shreds right in front of him. The directors were happy to film the boy bursting into tears because he couldn't stand the sword, and they created a famous scene that will go down in movie history.

In this day and age, reading just this anecdote makes it seem quite arrogant. Even though he followed up closely and re-presented the photo, the boy must have been seriously frightened when he was scolded and had the photo torn up without being told that it was a lie. It's natural to wonder if it's okay to go this far, even though it's for the purpose of filming a movie.

Actors who can only act the truth