ABC Africa (DVD)

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Crewman: "We can´t even take five minutes of it."

Kiarostami: "Because it is five minutes. If it was five or fifty years we would get used to it. Our only good fortune is that we humans can adapt to anything.


Ultimately, "ABC Africa" is a story of the amazing human ability to adapt to even the most trying situations. After this central scene, we see a wedding couple. The bride lost her husband to AIDS and the groom has lost his wife; now they have remarried and their two families are joined as one. To borrow the title of another Kiarostami film: "And life goes on…"

Kiarostami avoids the trap of portraying his subjects as nothing but helpless, suffering victims. Instead, they are complex people with both sorrows and joys who experience despair at their losses but also hope for a better future, and are willing and able to do whatever they need to in order to realize that future. No single film can fully explore such an immense subject, but Kiarostami resists the temptation to present the subject matter in overly simplified or stereotypical terms. "ABC Africa" is as much a philosophical rumination as it is an informational documentary.

Video

The movie is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Kiarostami has begun to experiment with digital video in recent years. I found the use of digital in the minimalist feature "Ten" (2002) to be very distracting; the flat imagery and blown out sunlight made each scene feel more like a recorded rehearsal than a final performance and all but ruined the movie for me. The digital video in "ABC Africa" is far more effective; the camera can move freely and creates a more spontaneous feeling to the movie.

Audio

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital. The sound is design is very simple and all the dialogue is clearly recorded. Intermittent non-optional English subtitles support the audio; however, there is no subtitle choice on the DVD and it is sorely missed in some scenes in which thickly accented English is spoken.

Extras

The DVD includes only one extra, but it´s a real doozy. "Abbas Kiarostami: The Art of Living" is listed as a featurette but runs at 55 minutes, not far off from the 83 minute running time of "ABC Africa." The documentary discusses Kiarostami´s work in some detail both in his own words and with the participation of several prominent film critics including Jonathan Rosenbaum, Adrian Martin, Godfrey Cheshire and Michel Ciment (it´s like they asked me who my favorite critics were and gathered them all together for this project). A comprehensive examination Of Kiarostami´s work would have to be much longer, but "The Art of Living" is an excellent introduction for both neophytes and long-time fans of the director. It would also make an excellent teaching tool for film programs that provide far too little discussion of Iranian cinema, perhaps the most exciting national cinema in the world today. Top notch material.

Closing Thoughts

If you want to learn why Abbas Kiarostami has become one of the most venerated directors in the world today, I recommend you start with his sublime 1999 film "The Wind Will Carry Us." You also can´t go wrong with "A Taste of Cherry" (1997) which won the Palme d´Or at Cannes. "Wind" is available on DVD from New Yorker Video and "Cherry" has been released by the Criterion Collection.

"ABC Africa" may not be counted as one of Kiarostami´s masterpieces, but is a thoughtful, respectful film which does justice to its material. It is a valuable entry in Kiarostami´s body of work and is well worth your time.

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