User Reviews

Samira Makhmalbaf emerges more sympathetically from his account of the filming of Takhté siah/ BLACKBOARDS than she does from the film itself. We see her anguished over what to do with the professional actor whose performance jars with the authentic locals she's using - he resigns resolving that one - and defending her status as a twenty year old film maker.

The film making here is more coherent than in the finished feature where no one seems to be worried about the cutting up of the teacher's board which appears back together in the next scene and then cut in half later. Details, like equating the mist with the chemical attacks which threaten the pilgrims, are present here and missing (at least in the translated version) from the end result.

The piece is protracted, with her success at Cannes, which takes more explaining than the feature or the documentary provide, shown as vindication.

Issues of nepotism aside, the spectacle of a twenty year old woman directing a movie standing in a freezing river in a chador is something not quickly forgotten.

In the previous comment it was written: "The film making here is more coherent than in the finished feature where no one seems to be worried about the cutting up of the teacher's board which appears back together in the next scene and then cut in half later. Details, like equating the mist with the chemical attacks which threaten the pilgrims, are present here and missing (at least in the translated version) from the end result."

After having seen the movie, I believe there may be some confusion with this comment. At the beginning of the movie the focus turns to two of the teachers, who decide to take separate directions. One chooses to follow the young 'mule' group, while the other agrees to lead the older group to the Iraq border.

The cutting of the board occurred with the teacher who went with the mules. He did it to make a splint for a broken or injured ankle of one of the young men. The scenes were switching between the mule group and the elder group, and I believe what you mistook for a 'healed' board was a switch of scenes to the other teacher who had promised his blackboard as a dowry. That board remained intact. It was hard to distinguish the people when they were carrying the muddied down boards on their backs, and this made for a bit of confusion.

Overall, the movie was quite compelling, as the struggles and simplicity of the people of that area make for an excellent insight into the importance and advantage of a good education. I hope to be able to view this documentary on the filming of this. I am impressed with the abilities of young Samira, and I like her style of letting things happen in a natural progression without a hint of the camera crew or any sense that the locals are ogling at the production as it takes place. I like "Sib" or aka "The Apple" for the same reason, a piece she did when she was only 17. Samira is high on my list of favorites.