Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Blackboards (2000)

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Just as assured as The Apple, and considerably more ambitious, 20-year-old Makhmalbaf's second feature - co-written and edited by her father Mohsen - is an enigmatic, metaphorical fable set in Iranian Kurdistan, hard by the Iraqi border. Two teachers break away from their nomadic group in search of pupils; one joins up with kids smuggling contraband across the mountains, the other with a bunch of elderly exiles trying to return to their homeland. Neither group is interested in education, especially as they're too busy watching out for unseen border patrols. There are astonishing images here, and some extraordinarily tense, suggestive set-pieces, particularly in the bleak final half-hour; but the occasionally repetitive narrative, the often oblique script, and the overall austerity make it less immediately accessible than its predecessor. Memorably poetic film-making, all the same.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide


  • Find Show Times

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Now showing

This film is showing at these cinemas

Cast & crew

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf

Producer: Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Cast: Saïd Mohamadi, Bahman Ghobadi, Behnaz Jafari, Rafat Moradi full cast

Duration: 85 mins




Top Stories

Ridley Scott interview

Ridley Scott interview

Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke

Wes Anderson interview

Wes Anderson interview

Cath Clarke talks to the director of Cannes's opening film

Open-air movies in London

Open-air movies in London

Cath Clarke rounds up this summer's crop of outdoor film screenings

The 100 best French films

The 100 best French films

In honour of Cannes, we reveal the best French films of all time

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach talks to us about his Cannes Film Festival entry 'The Angels' Share'