Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami’s 'Taste of Cherry' is a philosophical tale about a middle-aged man so tired of life that he wants to commit suicide.

An unconventional road movie ensues with Mr Badii (Homayon Ershadi) cruising the outskirts of Tehran in search of an accomplice willing to bury him after his death. A museum guard agrees to his request but also insists on knowing how Mr Badii can contemplate giving up the joys of nature, an encounter that forces an unexpected affirmation of the things that make life worth living.

From consistent close-ups of Mr Badii we move finally to a panoramic view as his car moves across the hills.

Short: 'Charley Harry’s Wondrous Nothing' (Esther May Campbell, 2003) 15 mins
Charley Harry contemplates his freckles’ relationship to the constellations

Image above: Detail of still from 'Ta'm e guilass (Taste of Cherry)' Credit BFI/Source BFI