--- title: "Taste of Cherry" year: 1997 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/taste-of-cherry" fi1m_id: "taste-of-cherry" imdb_id: "tt0120265" tmdb_id: 30020 wikidata_id: "Q794178" fi1m_score: 86 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:19.715592+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Taste of Cherry (1997) Directed by Abbas Kiarostami · 1h 39m · Drama ## Identity Taste of Cherry - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/taste-of-cherry - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** taste-of-cherry - **IMDb ID:** tt0120265 - **TMDB ID:** 30020 - **Wikidata ID:** Q794178 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120265/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/30020, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q794178 **Fi1m score: 86** · Critics 68 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* This drive around Tehran made us want to ring a friend > Abbas Kiarostami makes a deeply moving drama from a man’s search for help with his planned suicide. The repeated conversations can test patience, but Homayoun Ershadi gives us someone worth staying with. ## Synopsis Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi) drives around Tehran looking for someone willing to bury him after his planned suicide. While the middle-aged man tries to secure this help, the city’s working life continues around him. His encounters raise questions about what one person can ask of another, and what responsibility comes with listening to such a request. Abbas Kiarostami writes and directs, with Safar Ali Moradi playing a soldier, Mir Hossein Noori a seminarian and Abdolrahman Bagheri Mr. Bagheri. The conversations bring Badii’s purpose into contact with other men’s views about life and death. ## Review *Taste of Cherry* is a moving, demanding film about how difficult it can be to listen when another person’s wishes frighten us. Abbas Kiarostami gives Mr. Badii, played by Homayoun Ershadi, a practical purpose: he drives around Tehran looking for someone to bury him after his planned suicide. The request is clear, while the ethical problem it poses grows harder the longer we consider it. Kiarostami asks us to spend time with that difficulty, and largely earns the attention he requires. Ershadi’s contained performance helps because a more demonstrative one could have told us what to feel before anyone had replied. He gives Badii enough reserve to make us work at staying close to him. That can be frustrating, particularly when we want an explanation that would make his purpose easier to understand. Yet we remain concerned about what happens to this man, even when the talk starts to turn him into a philosophical problem. Homayun Payvar’s cinematography makes the changing scenery and colour worth attending to without offering an easy escape from the conversation. We keep looking at the world Badii is travelling through, and there is more happening in it than his immediate business. We were moved by the noisy industrial desert, where the activity around Badii makes his isolation harder to bear. Physical work carries on in a place that might otherwise seem empty. It gives Kiarostami a concrete way to place this private suffering among other people’s daily concerns. Kiarostami also edits, and he lets the repeated encounters establish an unhurried pace, giving us time to consider what is being asked. Each new conversation alters how we judge the request. The repetitions do sometimes feel overextended, particularly when we have grasped a speaker’s position and are ready to move on. At those points Kiarostami seems reluctant to end a discussion whose terms are already clear. The soldier played by Safar Ali Moradi and the seminarian played by Mir Hossein Noori help Kiarostami keep the encounters distinct. Their presence gives each conversation a different starting point, though Badii’s need remains the same. As a writer, Kiarostami is interested in the pressure put on the person being asked for help: agreeing is difficult, but so is sending the man away. We are left considering what we would actually say, with little confidence that it would be useful. A drama about suicide can become a succession of speeches about why life is worth living. This film’s suggestions that nature might offer comfort are modest enough to be taken seriously. There is room to find comfort in what the men say and still recognise the limits of their advice. The film respects the seriousness of Badii’s despair, and its interest in ordinary life never requires us to think him foolish for suffering. At 99 minutes, this is not a long film, though its repetitions can make it feel longer. It needs an evening when there is no particular hurry, and a willingness to hear out people whose answers may seem inadequate. That is a fair demand for a film as humane as this one. Watch it with someone who will let the conversation continue afterwards. *Fi1m score 86, published 13 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics take the film to be Kiarostami at his most distilled: a man drives the outskirts of Tehran asking strangers to help him with his own death, and the pleasure, such as it is, lies in the talk and the terrain rather than in incident. Praise clusters around the direction and the plain, patient shooting, with several reviews singling out the conversations with the men he picks up, one about the sweetness of fruit in particular, and the dusty industrial landscape. Seven of nine call it a serious and humane piece of work. The dissent is sharp rather than mild. Roger Ebert finds it excruciatingly dull and calls the slow, monotone style an affectation; Empire likes the shifts of scenery and colour but feels cheated by the ending. Even admirers hedge on that ending, which Variety expects to disappoint some, though The Playlist argues that calling the film dull misses the point. The spread is wide: enthusiasm or impatience, little in between. ## Straight answers **Is Taste of Cherry worth watching?** *Taste of Cherry* is worth watching for anyone prepared to sit with a slow, serious film about a man seeking help with his planned suicide, and we scored it 86. Homayoun Ershadi's reserved performance keeps us close to Mr. Badii, though the repeated conversations can test patience. Choose an evening when there is no hurry. **How long is Taste of Cherry, and what is it rated?** *Taste of Cherry* runs 1h 39m. It is a drama film. **Where can I watch Taste of Cherry in the US?** *Taste of Cherry* is streaming on HBO Max, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Taste of Cherry compare to Close-Up?** *Taste of Cherry* is the more demanding of the two, a spare drama about a man asking strangers to bury him, while [*Close-Up*](https://film.one/film/close-up) turns a real impersonation case into something patient, funny and unexpectedly moving. Both films ask us to listen closely to someone others might dismiss. Those new to Kiarostami will find *Close-Up* the warmer way in; *Taste of Cherry* rewards viewers ready for its repetitions. **What should I watch after Taste of Cherry?** After *Taste of Cherry*, try [*Close-Up*](https://film.one/film/close-up) (1990, Fi1m 92): Kiarostami finds comparable tension in listening closely to someone others might dismiss. Then [*Ikiru*](https://film.one/film/ikiru) (1952, Fi1m 92): Another patient encounter with despair, where ordinary acts carry the emotional weight; and [*The Straight Story*](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story) (1999, Fi1m 88): A quiet road journey whose encounters make the travelling worth our time. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kevin Thomas (90/100, inferred): Kiarostami’s soaring parable follows a middle-aged man in Tehran seeking someone to bury him after his planned suicide, turning into an odyssey on life’s meaning and human dignity through encounters with various men. Every shot attests to the director’s mastery, inviting viewers to think deeply about life and nature’s consolations. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-27-ca-33090-story.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Budd Wilkins (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Kiarostami’s understated rumination on existential despair and suicide, highlighting the film's use of landscape, conversations with outsiders, and the remarkable transition from fiction to behind-the-scenes footage with music. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/taste-of-cherry-blu-ray-review-abbas-kiarostami/) - **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (NYT Critic’s Pick): Kiarostami contrasts the vitality of Iranian working life with the suicidal despair of a middle-aged man driving around Tehran seeking someone to bury him after he takes sleeping pills. The film offers an epic yet minuscule vision of human scale and dignity. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/27/movies/film-festival-review-human-anthill-room-for-individuality-sense-dignity.html) - **Time Out**, GA (70/100, inferred): The critic describes the film's slow revelation of a man's search for help with his planned suicide, drawing viewers into his psychological and ethical dilemma. They praise the subtle, deceptively simple mise-en-scène, particularly a noisy industrial desert scene and the ambiguous penultimate sequence. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-taste-of-cherry) - **Variety**, Deborah Young (70/100, inferred): Kiarostami’s linear and accessible parable follows a despairing man seeking discreet help to bury him after suicide, with a bleak premise partially offset by arguments for nature’s consolations, though the abrupt cerebral ending may disappoint some. The director cuts masterfully with fable-like repetitions and symbolic visuals. [Read](https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/the-taste-of-cherries-1117329750/) - **Empire**, William Thomas (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film fascinating for its subtle shifts of scenery and colour but questions its Palme d'Or win and criticises the ending for leaving viewers feeling deprived. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/taste-cherries-review/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (1/4): The critic finds the film excruciatingly boring and not a worthwhile viewing experience, despite acknowledging its humanistic intentions and the director's courage in addressing suicide. He argues that the slow, monotone style is an affectation that fails to engage or benefit the subject matter. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/taste-of-cherry-1998) - **Paste**, Dom Sinacola (90/100, inferred): The film is an existential tone poem of deliberate pace following a man seeking help with suicide, ultimately becoming a transcendental meditation on life, death, and human connection. The critic singles out the taxidermist's conversation about the sweetness of mulberries and seasonal fruits, along with the film's transcendent conclusion and behind-the-scenes coda, as elements that reveal its profound beauty upon rewatch. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/abbas-kiarostami/abbas-kiarostami-1940-2016) - **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (A-): The critic finds the film patient and languid, disagreeing with those who dismiss it as dull or self-indulgent. They praise Kiarostami’s humanism and the film’s oblique qualities, along with its beautifully plain shooting style and the baffling but brilliant coda featuring behind-the-scenes footage set to Louis Armstrong. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/the-films-of-abbas-kiarostami-a-retrospective-20130213/3/) ## Details - **Director:** Abbas Kiarostami - **Director:** Abbas Kiarostami - **Writer:** Abbas Kiarostami - **Cinematography:** Homayun Payvar - **Editor:** Abbas Kiarostami - **Producer:** Abbas Kiarostami, Alain Depardieu - **Cast:** Homayoun Ershadi as Mr. Badii; Abdolrahman Bagheri as Mr. Bagheri; Safar Ali Moradi as Soldier; Mir Hossein Noori as Seminarian; Elham Imani as Photographer; Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari as Worker; Ahmad Ansari as Self - **Runtime:** 1h 39m - **Release (the US):** 20 March 1998 - **Genres:** Drama - **Also in:** [Palme d'Or winners](https://film.one/collections/palme-dor.md) (Winner, 1997) - **Budget:** $120,000 - **Box office:** $10,923 ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AT, AU, BR, CH, DE, ES, FR, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Cannes Film Festival 1997: Palme d'Or (won) ## If you liked this - *Close-Up* (1990), Fi1m 92: Kiarostami finds comparable tension in listening closely to someone others might dismiss. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/close-up.md) - *Ikiru* (1952), Fi1m 92: Another patient encounter with despair, where ordinary acts carry the emotional weight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ikiru.md) - *The Straight Story* (1999), Fi1m 88: A quiet road journey whose encounters make the travelling worth our time. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-straight-story.md) - *Oslo, August 31st* (2011): Conversations and familiar streets make one man’s isolation increasingly difficult to bear. - *The Green Ray* (1986): Loneliness and the natural world, observed with patience and an occasional sharp laugh. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/taste-of-cherry