The White Balloon (1995) - Jafar Panahi 

Well I'll be honest as this film began I was a little bothered by it. I found the plot or what appeared to be a sad excuse for a plot pointless and disappointing. I thought "Kiarostami is better than this". However the films plods along at a good enough pace so that when the only thing standing in the way of getting the money back is how to pull it out, I started to care. So much of the film is frustrating, and you just want to smack some people in the face. The people in the film are both good and bad, but ultimately redemptive. I find it rewarding that the film is at its core humanistic. Even the loud, shouting would-be thieves all seem to be able to look in their heart for this little girl who's retarded beyond all human comprehension. Compared to the gloriously intricate Mirror, this film is a hug let down, and pardon the pun but my expectations were rapidly "deflated". Overall this is the type of hit or miss Iranian film that if you find yourself not caring you can easily disregard the whole picture.

Grade C -