The Apple

*“The problem is that they’re girls. 
If they’d been boys, they’d go out with you. They’d play outside. And they’d even climb walls.”*

*“The problem is that they’re girls. 
If they’d been boys, they’d go out with you. They’d play outside. And they’d even climb walls.”*

Honestly such an easy film to enjoy. The storytelling flows so naturally that it never feels boring, not even for a moment.  Iranian cinema always blows me away with non-professional actors somehow it makes everything feel more real, more alive, like i’m just watching life happen in front of me. And the fact that Samira Makhmalbaf made this when she was only 17?? That’s crazy impressive. At that age she was already creating something this good 🫶🏻🤩.

Honestly such an easy film to enjoy. The storytelling flows so naturally that it never feels boring, not even for a moment.  Iranian cinema always blows me away with non-professional actors somehow it makes everything feel more real, more alive, like i’m just watching life happen in front of me. And the fact that Samira Makhmalbaf made this when she was only 17?? That’s crazy impressive. At that age she was already creating something this good 🫶🏻🤩.

this was absolutely terrifying

this was absolutely terrifying

this was an incredibly difficult watch and im not sure how to rate it quite yet. samira makhmalbaf is a master behind the camera, utilising documentary-aspects to document the lives of 2 real-life abused children who were robbed of a childhood, as she shows us a simple day outside for them. extremely tough.

this was an incredibly difficult watch and im not sure how to rate it quite yet. samira makhmalbaf is a master behind the camera, utilising documentary-aspects to document the lives of 2 real-life abused children who were robbed of a childhood, as she shows us a simple day outside for them. extremely tough.

really impressive that samira was able to make this at 17 (even more tragic that she is no longer creating films) with a lot of the trademarks of Iranian cinema (blurring the lines between fiction and reality) but also a film that goes deeper than that. i love the use of the apple as a metaphor for unlocking the rest of the world, in the same way adam and eve did. interesting to think about the devil as the good guy in the adam and eve story and the one who bestows humanity with freedom. also really easy to sympathize with the parents which shows real balance and maturity in samira's filmmaking. now time to write an essay about it!

really impressive that samira was able to make this at 17 (even more tragic that she is no longer creating films) with a lot of the trademarks of Iranian cinema (blurring the lines between fiction and reality) but also a film that goes deeper than that. i love the use of the apple as a metaphor for unlocking the rest of the world, in the same way adam and eve did. interesting to think about the devil as the good guy in the adam and eve story and the one who bestows humanity with freedom. also really easy to sympathize with the parents which shows real balance and maturity in samira's filmmaking. now time to write an essay about it!