rstout3526 Frontier Blues is a portrait of an Iranian border Steppes region by the Caspian Sea that has been fought over for centuries and depicted through the eyes of four village characters, each of a differing tribe - a Persian, a Kazak, a Turkman and an Armenian. Added to which is a Tehran photographer trying to capture it all on film, taxi drivers, cafe owner, factory manager etc. All have aimless lives with no real prospects. Mundane existences in a wide barren landscape littered with relics of the past. The dark humour, stoicism and pathos is abundant and the whole cinematic experience is a true joy to watch. Frontier Blues can be equally likened to other slow paced world cinema gems such as Lake Tahoe, Vodka Lemon, The Return, Historias Minimas, The Banishment, Las Acacias and the wonderful Once Upon A Time in Anatolia. So much different from standard mainstream cinema carp of today. To me they all provide to a western outsider an education and greater understanding of these peoples and places.

oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx There is a debate raging in various august film organs at the moment about the merits/demerits of "slow cinema". Whatever your standpoint on the matter is, you should know that this is an example of the cycle. For myself, I watch Bergman and often hope that he will hold shots longer! Blues is the right word for what we've got here, but the men of the cast (the characters are almost entirely men) aren't utterly high and dry, and there's a goodly amount of drollery to be had. It's very important to recognise that each of the characters the films follows has someone that loves them (even if it's not the love they think they want), despite their reservoirs of ennui.There is prettiness to be had on the northern frontiers of Iran, the quality of light on the steppes, the Caspian sea. But these characters aren't there on holiday, and they are pretty much stuck in the Doldrums. In particular I think you keenly feel the lack of female presence in the movie, all the women seem to have had the sense to absent themselves from the congenital exile. Hassan is the funniest character, he has pebble glasses and a slack jaw, his hobby is collecting car number plates from different regions in Iran, and he claims to own several eucalyptus plantations. He pines for the mother he has only ever known from a photo, a beautiful lady who ran away to Paris when he was young. His sentimental connection with her is a tape of Françoise Hardy's "Tous les garçons et les filles"; which reminded me of my schooldays, when my French teacher for a year, a real Titania who kept us all behaving through the spell of her fey grace alone, used to play us her songs under some doubtlessly invented educational pretext.The stories aren't intersecting, and what we see is more a slice of life than traditional narrative. The director is careful to be as honest in his depictions as possible, and warns of the falsity of the Neorealist approach via a story of an ethnographic photographer from Tehran.A funny and deeply humanistic movie, as an oblique coda, I suggest that you bring a long a sachet of dried apricots to make an experience of it if this plays near you.

jimmyjojo74 I saw this film at two different festivals and each time I left thinking that Iranian cinema is in safe hands! Although perhaps I shouldn't even limit this film in to a sub category such as Iranian cinema because this film does not resemble much of what I've seen of Iranian cinema. But I still feel that after a disappointing few years, directors like Babak Jalali could well be about to give films from that region a much needed lift. Frontier Blues takes place in a remote part of Northern Iran where Turkmen and Persians live side by side. This film is about the lives lived on that region by a group of men waiting to go places. It's a very atmospheric and confident piece of work and does not rely on any cinematic conventions to tell it's tales. Highly recommended and I hope to be able to see it again.

sachadelorean I saw this film at the San Francisco International Film Festival where it won the prestigious FIPRESCI award. The director was there to speak about the film. I've seen my fair share of Iranian films and although generally impressed by the standards, I'd grown somewhat weary and tired of the stylistic similarities displayed by them. Then along came this little gem. I'd like to say out of nowhere. But evidently it has been shown in quite a few places. It stands out from not only other offerings from Iran, but also from pretty much anything else I've seen in a long time. The mixture of humor and sorrow blends effortlessly to provide an atmosphere that allows you to experience a wistful 90 minutes filled with oddities and beauty. Some may find it taxing, but if you let it, it will blow you away.