Taste of Cherry

What makes Taste of Cherry a cinematic masterpiece? The longing desire for the character to be laid to eternal rest, or the fact his subconscious refuses to let go, clinging on to the very last remnants of his earthly abode.

As I receive the news of the passing of the great Homayoun Ershadi, I feel compelled to give him my flowers. A show of acting so masterful you might look away from the glare of the screen to ponder into the vastness of the dark sky that engulfs you from within. Hands clasped across the steering wheel while he gazes off into the rocky Iranian terrains; no actor will ever reach the depths into which he meticulously delved to give us the ultimate slice of perfection.

The movie centres around Badii, who has had enough of life; all he wants is to be freed from the shackles that bind him to the barren ground and be free of all pain at last. His only wish? For someone to give him a honorable burial in the lap of the land that birthed him; enough to keep him away from the prying eyes of the vultures that circled overhead and for acknowledging the fact that he died a warrior's death, well knowing the battle was never to be conquered but rather to take a last stand and go off in a blaze of defiance.

As he drives around in his dust-covered car, his eyes desperately scanning for someone who would do the dirty work for him, he comes across a myriad of characters, whether it be a Kurdish soldier whose lips trembled at the very mention of death, or a seminarist who tried to make Badii realize the error of his ways. The answer, unfortunately (or fortunately) was always a no in those very instances: whether it be quoting verses from the Holy Quran or it be an immoral act of sin, one which would never lead to them meeting the Almighty as they would be fellow perpetrators in an unspeakable act. Self-righteousness always transcended money, it was never about the money which Badii so graciously offered, it was always their best intentions at heart which made them realize how wrong he was for contemplating such an act, but all pleas fell to deaf ears.

The brain gave up but the heart never says die. On went Badii on his unrelenting quest to find someone who would give him the closure he long craved, a full stop that had eluded him for the majority of his life and had heaped upon him so much pain and misery. As the long road winded on and on, trailing through the desolate terrain, he finally finds his Messiah- a Mr. Bagheri who would all too gladly spend the money being offered for the treatment of his ailing child. Does it imply Bagheri wants him dead? No, he wants to see Badii live in his own special ways.

Bagheri was a past offender of the same act Badii set out to do, the only difference being a mulberry orchard. If the sweet taste of a mulberry fruit could change someone's perspective towards years' worth of experience and judgement, surely it was not worth letting go of the very thing that gave rise to those mulberry plants? Enjoy life in its own little ways- when the stars align in their various permutations to give us innumerable constellations , when the orange Sun fades away into the dusk only to give rise to an even brighter Moon, does it not make the journey worth it? When God is the artist and the Earth is the canvas, you lay back and appreciate the art that he so meticulously crafted for all of us to appreciate.

As the movie reaches the climax (conveniently my favorite part), Badii reaches a state of internal turmoil. Would a single mulberry fruit outweigh the pain that clutched him through all his life, or would he finally be successful in the thing he sought out to complete. As Badii and Bagheri part ways for the day, Badii begs for the other to jolt him awake and even pelt him with stones- just for the faint hope that his body might finally cave in to his heart's demands, when he takes the arduous route to his supposed resting spot, would he find new reasons to live another day, or would he get the better of himself, finally taking one final leap into the unknown, where peace and tranquil lay.

We will never know what came to be of Badii, but that's what was intended all along.

It doesn't matter, it never mattered. Badii never wanted your pities and sympathy, whatever he did , he did with solid reasoning.

Get on with your work, you're the Badii of your own life.