Mossafer (1974)

Mossafer: Directed by Abbas Kiarostami. With Hassan Darabi, Pare Gol Atashjameh, Masud Zandbegleh, Mostafa Tari. A grade-school-age boy, neglected by his parents, lies, cheats, and steals to accumulate enough money to afford a bus ride to a large city and a ticket to see his favorite soccer team play.

“Kiarostamiu0026#39;s first feature film. If youu0026#39;ve seen any of his later childrenu0026#39;s movies (e.g., Where Is the Friendu0026#39;s Home?), youu0026#39;ll definitely recognize this as from the same filmmaker. I didnu0026#39;t think it was particularly good, though. Hassan Darabi stars as Quassem, a 12 year-old boy who spends his entire life getting in trouble at school or with his nagging mother. He is kind of a bad boy, and pretty much deserves whatever he gets. The story revolves around Quassem trying to get enough money to attend a soccer match in Tehran. Itu0026#39;s hard to really like the film because Quassem is such a brat. He inspires little sympathy. Yes, he does get his comeuppance, and that final bit of the film is sort of satisfying, but thereu0026#39;s not much to the film otherwise. Most of it consists of Quassem and a friend bilking the people around them for pocket change, with maybe a good quarter of the film consisting of his annoying mother bitching him out about not doing his homework. This is now available from Criterion, on the Close-Up DVD (or at least the Blu Ray).”