Taste of Cherry
Middle-aged Mr Badii is driving through the hills above Tehran in search of someone who can do a "job" for him in return for a substantial fee. Badii is tired of life and wants to die. He has already dug his grave; all he needs is someone to bury him in it after his suicide. He first tries to persuade a young Kurdish soldier, who adamantly refuses, as does the second person he asks, an Afghan seminarian with religious objections. Finally, he approaches Mr Bagheri, a taxidermist from Azerbaijan. Needing money for his sick son, Bagheri agrees to get the job done, but he nevertheless tries to talk Badii out of it; after all, life is far too beautiful.
Kiarostami tells this poignant story in a sober, minimalist style: long scenes, static camerawork, no music. Awarded with the Golden Palm at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.