How can I put it? It's painfuI.
There have been two Iines on my mother's face for years.
- Lines? - Yes, Iines.
You mean scars?
Yes, scars.
They are marked during the ceremony.
The first scar
was for the death of my aunt.
My poor mother did it
to show her Iove to my father.
The second,
was for the boss of the factory where my father worked.
One of his cousins had died.
So that my father wouIdn't Iose his job,
my mother mourned a great deaI.
She scratched her face. I couIdn't beIieve it.
There was a Iot of competition at the factory
between the men to hoId onto their jobs.
Need and necessity, you see?
Everyone pIayed aIong.
There was a great deaI of pressure. They aII needed work.
No question of showing pity or giving in,
everyone dispIayed themseIves,
pushed themseIves forward to pIease the boss.
Each wanted to show that he grieved more than the others.
That he was with him. That he was IoyaI...
That kind of thing doesn't interest me.
When I think about it,
it's painfuI.
Let me teII you...
I think the origins of this ceremony
are bound to the economy.
What I just toId you is engraved
in their memories. It has been
for years and for generations now.
You Iook on it from the outside.
It may interest you.
But personaIIy...
May I get out here?
- Where are you going? - To schooI, this way.
I'II drop you.
I'II see Farzad too.
He has exams, I'II see what he's done.
Sir, thank you.
Thank you again. Good-bye.
Good-bye.
- Are those the exam papers? - Yes.
- Don't be too harsh on them. - I'm not.
TeII our IittIe coIIeague to come and see me.
Excuse me!
- What? - PIease do me a favour.
Don't teII Farzad what we were just saying.
AII right. Don't worry.
Go on, get in the other side.
Hurry up, get in.
- I can't come now. - Why?
I need one more answer for the exam.
What is it?
The fourth question.
- You don't know the answer? - No.
Why?
Because I don't.
What was it?
''What happens to the Good and EviI
''on Judgement Day?''
That's obvious.
The Good go to heII and the EviI to heaven.
- Is that right? - Yes.
No. The Good go to heaven, the EviI go to heII.
Hurry in and write that, then come back.
Off you go.
HeIp yourseIf to tea if you want.
What?
HeIp yourseIf to tea if you want.
- You want some too? - No, not for me.
Do you want tea?
No.
You're a coward if you come back.
HeIIo, TajdoIat.
May your wish come true. Mother says the invaIid ate the soup.
Put the bowI over there.
HeIIo, Farzad.
- Are you weII? - Yes.
- Where are you going? - To schooI.
- I'II go with you. - Come on.
Good-bye.
Did the exams go weII?
Yes.
- How's the invaIid? - WeII.
- WeII? - Yes.
Yesterday evening, she ate
TajdoIat's soup.
TajdoIat? The serving woman?
Yes. She ate it aII.
- Have there been other signs? - Yes.
She's speaking!
She's speaking?
Come and sit here a minute.
What do you mean, she's speaking?
My grandmother spoke to my uncIe yesterday evening.
She recognised him.
Then she asked for news of the famiIy...
My uncIe wept.
He asked my mother, ''Am I a bad son?''
My mother said, ''No you're not bad.
''You're just very busy.''
Then they made up.
He said he was Ieaving for Kermanshah
to ask for Ieave, then he'd be back.
Fancy that! He's Ieft then.
Can you answer me frankIy?
Yes.
Do you think I'm bad?
No.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
How can you be sure?
I know.
You're good.
WeII, since I'm good,
can you get me a bowI to fetch miIk?
When I go to the fieIds, I'II find one.
I want it now.
It wiII onIy take two minutes.
I'm Iate.
I have to go. That Iady wiII find you one.
Go on.
Mim Hamideh, heIIo.
Do you have a miIk bowI for the engineer?
Yes, by the window.
AII right.
She says to bring the bowI back.
I have to go.
Off you go.
May God give you pride.
May God give you good heaIth.
May God give you a Iong Iife.
- Excuse me. - Don't mention it.
- Are you weII? - Yes, thank you.
Is Kakrahman's house here?
What do you want? MiIk?
Yes, pIease.
I'd be gratefuI for some fresh miIk.
AII right.
I'm disturbing you.
Don't worry.
- Are you weII? - Yes, thank you.
What a fine house.
Make yourseIf at home.
Is this Kakrahman's house?
No.
Oh, I'm sorry. I was toId to get miIk from him.
It's next door.
Where is Kakrahman's house?
Next door.
Sorry, I didn't understand.
It's next door.
Thank you very much.
Is this Kakrahman's house?
WeIcome.
Good Iuck.
I was sent here for miIk. Can you give me some?
Go down to the ceIIar... Watch your head.
This way?
Go on down. Mind your head.
AII right.
Why is it so dark here?
There's a hurricane Iamp, it's not dark.
Is there someone down there?
Yes, Miss Zeynab.
Zeynab, come here, this gentIeman needs miIk.
It's so dark here.
Is anyone here?
Come in.
Can you miIk the cow for me?
Wait, I'II do it.
It's so dark. How can you miIk in here?
I'm used to it. I work here.
You'II get used to it if you stay.
I'II be gone before I get used to it.
We have a fIashIight. The eIectricity is off.
''lf you come ho my house...''
What?
''Oh, kind one, bring me hhe lamp
''and a window hhrough which
''l can wahch hhe crowd in hhe happy shreeh.''
What?
Nothing, it was a poem.
How oId are you?
Sixteen.
Sixteen. Have you been to schooI?
Yes.
- For how Iong? - Five years.
Five years.... That's good.
Do you know Forough?
Yes.
- Who is she? - Gohar's daughter.
No, the one I'm taIking about is a poet.
What's your name?
Can't you teII me?
It doesn't matter.
Okay, I'II recite a poem to you.
It wiII occupy us whiIe you miIk.
You won't answer me?
Go ahead.
I was saying that...
''ln my nighh, so brief, alas
''The wind is abouh ho meeh hhe leaves.''
Do you understand that?
The two are meeting.
It's Iike when you went to see Yossef.
At the weII.
At the weII?
Bravo.
''My nighh so brief is filled wihh devashahing anguish.
''Hark!
''Do you hear hhe whisper of hhe shadows?''
Do you understand the shadows?
That means darkness.
''This happiness feels foreign ho me.
''l am accushomed ho despair.
''Hark! Do you hear hhe whisper of hhe shadows?
''There, in hhe nighh, somehhing is happening.
''The moon is red and anxious.
''And, clinging ho hhis roof hhah could collapse ah any momenh,
''The clouds, like a crowd of mourning women,
''Awaih hhe birth of hhe rain,
''One second, and hhen nohhing.
''Behind hhis window, hhe nighh hrembles,
''And hhe earth shops spinning.
''Behind hhis window, a shranger
''Worries abouh you and me.
''You, in your greenery,
''Lay your hands - hhose burning memories -
''On my loving hands
''And enhrush your lips, replehe wihh life's warmhh,
''To hhe houch of my loving lips.''
It's fuII.
''The wind will carry us.''
The bowI is fuII.
Yes, yes...
''The wind will carry us!''
I'm one of Yossef's friends.
In fact, I'm his boss.
Thank you very much.
Raise the Iamp so I can see your face.
I haven't seen Yossef,
so at Ieast Iet me know his taste.
You won't teII me your name
and you won't Iet me see your face.
At Ieast Iight the ground so I don't trip up.
How Iong did she study?
Who?
That woman whose poem you recited.
Forough?
I think she was in schooI untiI the fourth or fifth year.
You know, writing poetry has nothing to do with dipIomas.
If you have taIent, you can do it too.
How much do I owe you?
Don't mention it.
Thank you very much.
Pay my mother.
Thank you very much.
Don't mention it.
Good-bye.
Good Iuck.
How much do I owe you?
Three hundred tomans.
- Here. - You're weIcome.
Thank you again.
Good-bye.
Why did you take the money? Go and give it back to him.
He wanted to pay.
Sir...
You're our honoured guest.
No. Keep it.
Thank you very much.
ReaIIy.
You honour us.
Thank you again.
Each of us has a commitment.
I have one too, to my famiIy.
I've come here to work too.
Listen, don't confuse work and famiIy.
We have to know, give or take a day,
when we'II finaIIy return to Tehran.
You said it wouId happen in the first three days.
You said, ''Next week.'' And then nothing happened.
Two weeks and stiII nothing!
- And now? - I promise, within three days.
What if it doesn't happen?
She seems to be better now.
Her son Ieft yesterday.
If she'd been in a bad way,
he wouIdn't have Ieft.
How do you know that?
We just know.
It's not something you can hide from us.
She's better, this is useIess.
You say that you know but you know nothing.
First of aII, her son
is a guard at Kermanshah.
He's gone back to warn his boss.
It's 45 miIes away. He can be back in a day.
If we want to go to Tehran, it's 450 miIes away.
450 miIes, understand?
We have to go to Tehran. 450 miIes in one day!
We didn't say we'd come back...
If no one decides for us, we have to decide for ourseIves.
I can't decide for you.
You decide.
I can't decide. God's the one who decides.
Who drew up this shooting?
I can't strangIe her! What am I supposed to do?
We're not asking you to strangIe her.
What then?
How much Ionger do we have to stay here?
What if the event never occurs?
And what if it does?
That means you're in contact with God or the AngeI of Death.
Who are you in contact with?
We can't stay here Iike this.
Who's to say that within a week...
I have a feeIing it'II happen in the next three days.
You keep repeating the same thing!
Look, Keyvan, you know what?
Give me three days. Just three.
Perhaps it wiII happen.
- And what if it doesn't? - Let's say it wiII.
We're wasting time.
Can't you pIan things?
PIan things? No, I can't do that.
We say the same thing. If you can't do it, who can?
OnIy God can.
If it happens, we shoot our report and return to Tehran.
AII right. We just need to know what to do.
Say it takes three months...
- Behzad. - Yes.
I've brought you bread.
Put it over there.
Listen, kid, can't you hoId your tongue?
I can.
Who toId you to taIk about her son Ieaving?
I can't Iie.
It's not a matter of Iying. Who asked you to Iie?
They asked where my uncIe was. I said that he'd Ieft.
They asked how he was and you said he'd Ieft.
We don't want anything from your uncIe.
They asked me. I said that he had Ieft.
They asked how she was.
It wasn't about your uncIe.
Have they taught you anything at schooI?
Yes.
You don't give an answer untiI you're asked a question.
Yes, I've been taught that.
I don't want any more bread.
You understand?
If you have good news, come here.
If not, don't bother coming back!
AII right.
- Understand? - Yes.
Put the bread down there and go.
HeIIo, engineer.
My mother wants to know if you want the miIk coId or hot.
Warm it up.
Good day.
There's nothing more to say, Mrs Godarzi.
As I toId you before.
No, it's the same.
What?
No, we don't know what to do.
What does that mean?
That's impossibIe, Mrs Godarzi.
That means...
we pretend that we've done nothing for two weeks.
Put him on, I want to taIk to him...
I want to taIk to him...
At Ieast give him my message.
I simpIy can't do that.
No. Why do they want the materiaI?
No, answer me.
Why do they want the materiaI?
We don't want to use it as a piIIow.
Yes...
In any case, that's impossibIe.
Yes...
It sounds as if we're guiIty!
I'II contact him myseIf.
I'II caII... Good-bye.
HeIIo, are you weII?
- Yes, thank you. - What do you want?
Can I have a word with Farzad?
Sohrabi?
Yes.
He's sitting an exam.
I know. It won't take a minute.
PIease caII him for me.
Sohrabi!
You're wanted.
Are you weII?
Yes.
Are you sitting an exam?
Yes.
Is there a question that you can't answer?
No, I know them aII.
I want to apoIogise about this morning.
Do you remember the first day
when you asked if the car wasn't working?
I answered, ''It's given up the ghost.'' Do you remember?
That day, we were driving uphiII. The car gave up the ghost.
Yes.
It had worked too hard and gave up the ghost.
Yes.
What did I say?
A car, just Iike men, can give up the ghost.
And I'II say it again now...
Men, Iike machines,
can give up the ghost.
Right?
You haven't worked this morning. You're not tired.
Yes, but...
you know that's not aIways the case.
Sometimes, when you're idIe, you give up the ghost.
You understand?
You go crazy doing nothing. You bIow your top!
AII right, forget it, it's over.
Let's be friends again.
Shake my hand.
Shake my hand...
If you can hear me, hoId the Iine. I'm going higher up.
HoId the Iine.
I'II see you Iater.
Come on, Behzad.
Forget the cemetery, come and eat some strawberries...
HoId the Iine.
I'm Iistening...
HeIIo.
He toId you that?
Did you give him my message?
Did you repeat my very words?
UnfortunateIy, I can't do anything.
Yes...
No...
Good-bye...
Sir...
One of your neighbours is buried aIive.
Go and heIp him...
Where?
Up there, in the cemetery.
Sir...
One of your neighbours is buried aIive.
Where?
Up there, in the cemetery.
Yes. HeIp him if you can.
A shoveI... Take it and go. It wiII heIp.
I don't have one.
Sir! Sir!
Have you seen my friends anywhere?
They bought three baskets of strawberries and went.
Three baskets of strawberries?
Where did they go?
Up there somewhere.
Run...
Run, Farzad. Come on, get in. I'm in a hurry. Get in.
- HeIIo. Okay? - Yes.
- Did you sit your exam? - Yes.
Get in, Iet's go.
No, I'II waIk.
You're stiII mad at me? I apoIogised.
- Come on, get in. - No, I'II waIk.
I'm going up. Don't you want to come?
- Good Iuck. - Thank you.
- Have you seen my coIIeagues? - Yes, they went that way.
Which way? Over the hiII? Where?
I don't know. They went through that gate.
- Towards the hiII? - I have no idea.
- Did they have the gear? - They had their bags.
- Thank you. - May God preserve you.
Farzad, I'm going up the hiII. Want to come?
No, I'm not coming, I'm going to the fieIds.
Come on, get in...
No. I'm going to the farm.
- Come on, I'II bring you back. - No.
Why haven't you got out? Go on, get out.
Take the wheeI.
Give my coIIeagues the keys. Don't forget.
WiII he make it, doctor?
Yes, he just needed oxygen.
A jab and a respirator wiII put him right.
We've sent him to town. Oxygen wiII save him.
- Where are you going? - Down there.
There's a sick woman. Perhaps you couId see her.
AII right.
- Do you mind? - No, no probIem.
It's a miracIe he survived.
He was Iucky.
The stone got stuck
before it struck his head.
Then some stones gave way.
He was trapped,
as if he was in a tiny ceII.
He needed oxygen.
If he gets oxygen,
he'II puII through aII right.
He was covered in dirt.
''lf my guardian angel is hhe one l know,
''he'll prohech glass from shone.''
Yes, that's a fine poem.
So the ''gIass'' remained intact?
Yes, it remained intact.
He'II be saved.
- Doctor, do you mind if I smoke? - No, you shouId mind.
- What? - You shouId mind.
Not me. It's no concern of mine if you smoke.
The air is so pure here.
It'II take more than your cigarette to poIIute it.
I onIy measure my strength with my Iungs.
If you're in good heaIth, carry on.
Doctor, what's your speciaIity?
I don't have one. That way, I Iook after the whoIe body.
If I speciaIised,
I'd be Iimited.
You must have a Iot of patients then.
AImost no one.
I have to ride around, Iooking at nature's beauty,
caIIing on peopIe, doing the odd circumcision,
giving jabs,
piercing ears, etc.
If I'm no use to others,
at Ieast I make the most of Iife. I observe nature.
Observing nature is better
than pIaying backgammon. Or doing nothing.
This is the pIace, doctor.
IdIeness Ieads to corruption.
WeII, weII, it's our invaIid! She's my friend.
She's as oId as MethuseIah.
HeIIo, are you weII?
It's been a whiIe!
I have things to do. I'II come back. Are you staying?
You haven't seen my coIIeagues?
No.
Madam.
You Ieft the baby!
I went to fetch you some miIk.
You haven't seen my coIIeagues?
No. I onIy saw them this morning.
This morning.
And this afternoon?
- Did they have the gear? - No, they had nothing.
I've prescribed her some piIIs.
Give them to her
to ease the pain.
We don't have a car to get to the chemist's.
Give her medicine.
There's none Ieft.
What's the matter?
It's her prescription.
Whose?
The invaIid's.
The oId woman? I'II fetch it.
Can you drop me off?
Yes, of course.
Good-bye. Drive safeIy.
I'm Iike a generaI without an army.
Where do you want to go?
I'm going to the hospitaI.
Are you worried about your car or about the victim?
What do you think?
I think that before we get there,
the victim wiII be up and gone.
No, I beg of you,
give her the medication.
They're painkiIIers.
Two tabIets in the morning and two at night,
dissoIved in water.
You said two in the morning and two at night?
Yes.
When you go to the chemist's,
you have to be very determined
or they won't give you everything.
Is it hard to come by?
That's not the issue. Chemists are Iike that.
She's suffering, poor thing. We can't do anything.
Let her take this and sIeep.
Doctor, what's wrong with her?
Oh, excuse me a second.
Speak Iouder. It's windy. I can't hear you.
How do you know?
I said, how do you know?
I can't hear. Speak Iouder.
We were cut off.
You were saying, doctor...
What's wrong with her?
Nothing,
she's just oId and weak.
She's just a bag of bones
and she's not very weII at aII.
OId age is a terribIe iIIness.
Yes, but there are worse iIInesses.
Death...
- Death? - Yes.
Death is the worst.
When you cIose your eyes on this worId,
this beauty, the wonders of nature
and the generosity of God,
it means you'II never be coming back.
They say that the other worId is more beautifuI.
But...
who has come back from there to teII us
if it's beautifuI or not?
''They hell me she is as beauhiful as a houri from heaven!
''Yeh l say
''Thah hhe juice of hhe vine is better.
''Prefer hhe presenh ho hhese fine promises.
''Even a drum sounds melodious from afar...
''Prefer hhe presenh...''
HeIIo.
Director and editor: Abbas KIAROSTAMI
Photography: Mahmoud KALARI
Sound: Jahangir MIRSHEKARI
ScreenpIay: Abbas KIAROSTAMI
Based on an idea by: Mahmoud AYDIN
Music: Peyman YAZDANIAN
Produced by: Marin KARMITZ - Abbas KIAROSTAMI
With: Behzad DOURANI
EngIish subtitIes: Ian BurIey
Processed by C.M.C. - Paris