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In the name of God
Laborers?
A laborer? You want laborers?
No.
- You want laborers? Do you? - How many?
Take two.
- Hello, mister. - Hello.
How are you doing?
- What are you doing? - Playing cars.
Know how much a meal costs?
Get to the point.
100,000 tomans is nothing!
How will we pay it back?
Right. What are they asking for?
Where can we find title deeds?
Don't hang up.
- Do you want to make a call? - What?
- Do you want to use the phone? - No.
Yes, I'm listening.
Where?
Outside the museum? When?
All right.
Goodbye.
- I'll drop you off. - No, I'm working.
- I'm going that way. - I'm working.
- Don't act so proud. - I said I'm working!
Come here.
Just a minute, please.
Hello.
How are you?
If you have money problems, I can help you.
No.
- You don't have money problems? - No.
I can help you.
Clear off, or I'll smash your face in.
Get lost!
Hello.
- How are you? - Fine, thanks.
What is it?
- What are you collecting? - Plastic bags.
What for?
I gather them up, then sell them near the factory.
What happened to your finger?
I cut myself this morning.
Here?
Nice shirt. Where did you get it?
I found it over there last week.
Nice color. It suits you.
Know what it says on it?
Where are you from?
Pissy, pissy! Your dick's all sticky!
- Don't mind them. - They're playing.
- Where are you from? - Near Lorestan.
Not a local then. From Lorestan.
- Are you from Lorestan too? - You could say that.
How much do you make in a day?
200, 300, 400...
700. 600.
What do you do with the money?
I send it to my family.
You want to get married?
No. I'm helping my family.
You're helping them?
So, would you do something if I asked you?
A job?
A well-paid job.
No. I don't know how.
I just collect plastic bags and sell them.
Why? Where are you going?
TASTE OF CHERRY
A film by Abbas KIAROSTAMI
with Homayoun ERSHADI
Abdol HOSSEIN BAGHERI Afshin KHORSHID BAKHTARI
Safar Ali MORADI
Mir Hossein NOORI Ahmad ANSARI
Hamid MASOUMI Elham IMANI
Assistant cameraman Farshad BASHIR ZADEH
Sound assistant Sassan BAGHERPOUR
Cameraman Alireza ANSARIAN
Titles Mehdi SAMAKAR
1st assistant director Hassan YEKTAPANAH
2nd assistant director Bahman KIAROSTAMI
Editor Abbas KIAROSTAMI
Sound Jahangir MIRSHEKARI
Mix Mohamadreza DELPAK
Photography Homayoun PAYVAR
Written, produced and directed by Abbas KIAROSTAMI
- Where are you going? - To the barracks.
Come on, get in.
Hello.
Are you well? Where are you going?
Down there, not very far.
The barracks down there?
- Near the reservoir? - Yes.
You look tired.
I guess I am.
- Are you worn out? - Yes.
A soldier is never tired!
What do you expect? I've walked from Darabad.
- From Darabad? - Yes.
But today's a holiday.
I'm on duty tonight until 6:00 in the morning.
Then what are you doing? Where will you go?
To my aunt's.
She's dead. I stay with her husband, a janitor.
How long ago were you drafted?
Two months.
- Still in training? - Yes.
Where are you from?
Kurdistan.
- And you're in the army here? - Yes.
Will you stay or go back after?
- No, I'll go back. - Sorry?
- I'll go back home. - Back to Kurdistan?
- Yes. - Good.
What did you do in Kurdistan?
What did you do there?
I was a farmer.
A farmer?
Have you studied?
Were you at school?
Not for long.
Well.
You gave up?
Why?
You know how it is.
How many people in your family?
Nine.
- Nine? - Yes.
- They all work? - Yes, all of them.
- Do you know anyone in Tehran? - Yes.
Relatives?
Yes. I have two brothers in Tehran.
Why don't you stay with them?
They're married.
They have small houses, children. I can't stay there.
Do you have money? Soldiers get pay.
- Money? - A little. The pay's not good.
Is it enough for you?
Oh, no, it's not enough.
- When do you have to be back by? - 6:00 p.m.
It's 5:00 now.
You're so fond of the place you get there an hour early?
No, not really. No.
We've got an hour to kill. How about a drive?
I may have a well-paid job to offer you to supplement your income.
I want to be at the barracks by 6:00.
- What? - I want to be back by 6:00.
I'll drive you back. Don't worry. You won't be late.
- Shall we go? - Okay.
I'll get you back by 6:00. Don't worry.
You say the barracks aren't much fun?
I had fun when I did my military service.
It was the best time of my life.
I met my closest friends there.
Especially in the first six months.
I remember we used to get up at 4:00 in the morning.
After breakfast, we'd shine our boots
and we'd go out on maneuvers.
The major would join us.
There were 40 to 50 men in the regiment.
The major would start counting.
He'd tell us to repeat,
"One.
Two.
Three.
Four."
Do you count too? Is it the same?
Well?
How do you count?
Are you shy?
- Yes. - What?
Why? Don't you count with your friends at the barracks?
Yes.
So you don't think of me as a friend.
Of course I do. We're friends.
No, you act as if we don't know each other.
- No, it's not that. - Well, then?
It's not that.
Listen, this is how we did it.
One!
Two!
Three!
Four!
One! Two! Three! Four!
- Go on, repeat after me. One! - One!
Two!
Three!
Is that how you do it at the barracks?
- Soldiers don't count like that. - I can't help it.
You're taking me a long way. I need to know what you want.
- What you have to do? - Yes.
You know, son...
if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't ask what the job is,
but rather how good the pay is.
For someone like you,
the pay's what matters. A job is a job.
It's easy if you look at it that way.
This isn't an ordinary job, but neither is the pay.
In ten minutes, you can earn six months' pay.
What's the job?
Forget the job. It's the pay that matters.
You have to tell me what it is.
Listen, when you ask a laborer to dig foundations,
does he ask if they're for a hospital,
a lunatic asylum or a mosque
or a school?
He does his job and gets his pay.
Ever been a laborer?
Yes.
Were you told what you were digging for?
- No. No one told me. - Why ask me then?
Help me out. I'll pay you.
It's not hard. You'll see.
Okay?
Where are you going?
I have to be at the barracks by 6:00.
I'll drive you back. Wait a while.
I want to get out.
- Get out? - Yes.
A call of nature?
No, I was thinking I could go.
Why did I ask you to come? You think I'm nuts?
Do I look nuts?
I was thinking I ought to get back.
I promised I'd get you back by 6:00 and I will.
Wait a while.
Come on, get out a minute.
- I need to get back. - Get out. I'll explain.
You see that hole?
That hole there.
Now listen carefully.
At 6:00 in the morning, come here and call me twice.
"Mr. Badii! Mr. Badii!"
If I reply, take my hand to help me out of there.
There's 200,000 tomans in the car.
Take it and go.
If I don't reply...
throw 20 spadefuls of earth on top of me.
- Then take the money and go. - Take me back.
Keep it. Take me back.
I don't want to cause trouble.
- Trouble? What trouble? - I don't want it. It's late.
I want to go back. I don't want to be involved in all this.
You can't throw 20 spadefuls of earth into that hole?
Right now, I really need you.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have begged you.
You want me to beg you? Is that what you want?
No. Why would you beg me?
What does "need" mean?
What does "help" mean? "Help" isn't necessarily paid for,
but I'll give you money. I'll help you.
Don't you need money? Are you sure?
Of course I do.
Well? Isn't 200,000 enough?
It's not that. I can't do this for you.
It's not a matter of money.
You can't throw earth in a hole?
Yes, but not on top of someone. Not on someone's head.
You can't throw earth on someone.
If he was alive, he'd stand up to respond.
Look, I really need your help. I'm not mad.
When you throw the earth in, the man won't be alive,
or he wouldn't be in that hole.
Do you understand now?
Do you understand me?
Yes.
So if you understand, get out. Come and see.
When you come back here at 6:00 tomorrow morning.
Is your barracks over there?
From there to here will only take you 20 minutes.
Call my name twice.
"Mr. Badii! Mr. Badii!"
If I reply, you'll take my hand to help me climb out.
You'll get paid.
But if I don't reply...
Get out.
Get out. Come and see.
It's God's will I should need you...
and you don't want to help.
You don't want to?
You won't bury me alive.
Right now, they're burying dozens of people.
As we speak, dozens of dead people are being buried.
- You've never seen a gravedigger? - No, never.
I'm not a gravedigger.
I don't bury people.
I know you're not a gravedigger.
If I'd wanted one, I'd have fetched one.
It's you I need.
You're like my son.
Help me.
I have to beg?
Is that what you want?
No. What's the use of begging?
Get out then, come and have a look.
Maybe you'll feel up to it.
Twenty spadefuls of earth.
Just 20. 10,000 tomans for each one.
Where are you from?
- Kurdistan. - You're a Kurd.
A Kurd has to be brave.
You people have fought so many wars,
known such suffering.
Your villages have been decimated.
You've probably used a gun, right?
Know what a gun is, why you're given one?
So you can kill when you need to.
I don't want to give you a gun to kill me.
I'm giving you a spade. A spade.
You're a farmer, right?
Just pretend you're farming...
and that I'm manure to be spread at the foot of a tree.
Is that hard?
You're destined to use a gun, not a spade.
You can't even use a spade.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
- Hello. - Hello.
- How are you? - Well, thanks.
- What's that machine for? - Making cement.
Really? Why isn't it working?
This place is closed now. The workers aren't here.
So, what are you doing here?
I'm the security guard.
- Are you alone? - Yes.
All alone. Do you enjoy that?
Come and join me.
- I don't want to disturb you. - Come on up.
- I have to climb this ladder? - Yes.
- How can you climb this? - I'm used to it.
- You're used to it. - Yes.
- Hello. - Hello.
What a nice place.
Nice? It's nothing but earth and dust.
You don't think earth's nice?
Earth gives us all the good things.
So according to you, all good things return to the earth.
You must be...
I'm Afghani.
- Where from? - Mazar-i-Sharif.
That's a strange name. Whose "mazar" is it?
It's the tomb of the Imam Ali.
It's a place of pilgrimage.
Isn't the Imam Ali's tomb in Najaf?
Yes, but some people think it's in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Strange.
What are you doing?
I'm making myself an omelet. It isn't worthy of you.
I'll make you some tea.
Thank you very much.
Don't you get bored here alone?
I'm used to it. I'm used to loneliness too.
Do you know that man?
Yes. He's a fellow countryman.
He's Afghani?
Yes, he's a "seminarist." He's here for his holidays.
A seminarist? He should be in a seminary.
He felt lonely. He came to see me.
He's been here for two or three nights.
Is he staying for good?
Of course not. Just three nights.
I didn't catch what you said.
- Is he staying tonight? - Yes, he's staying.
You're not entirely alone then.
No, not entirely alone.
- Is he Afghani too? - Yes.
So many Afghanis around here.
There have been a lot since the war in Afghanistan.
Between two and three million Afghanis live in Iran.
With the war here, why didn't they go back?
The war against Iraq only concerned the Iranians.
But the war at home concerned us.
And our war didn't concern you?
You could say your war troubled us,
but the Afghanistan War was harder, more painful for us.
Tell me.
Today's a holiday. So why are you here alone?
You feel sad. So do I.
Come for a drive. We can get a change of scenery, talk.
I'm the security guard here. I'm in charge.
- A guard in this place? - Yes.
But who could carry off a machine that heavy?
It's a holiday. No one needs guards. Come on.
Let's get some fresh air. Everything's safe.
It's my duty. We all have our responsibilities.
- I can't leave my post. - You really can't?
No, sorry.
I thought we could get some air.
I'll go and see your friend, the seminarist.
Maybe we'll go for a drive together.
I've made some tea.
Leave it for later. Goodbye.
- Try going the other way. - The ladder moves.
It's dangerous. Mend it.
You can mend it by wrapping fuse wire around it.
Are you well?
You're Afghani, aren't you?
Yes.
What are you doing?
I've got three days' holiday.
I was alone. I felt down.
My friend Ahmad was alone too, so I came here to visit him.
I meant what are you doing in Iran?
I study at the Tchizar seminary.
Aren't there any seminaries in Afghanistan?
Yes, there are some, but there was a war on.
And my seminary wasn't that good.
So my father told me to study in Iran or at Najaf.
So I came to study in Iran.
What about the fees? Does your father send you money?
My father isn't that well off, no.
The seminary pays me 2,000 tomans.
During the summer, I work.
To build up my savings.
What kind of work?
I work as a laborer, simple work.
I didn't know a seminarist could work as a laborer.
When you need to, you work.
So if a job comes along, you take it?
Yes.
Aren't you wondering why I've offered you a ride?
Yes.
I know that your duty is to preach and guide people.
But you're young. You have time. You can do that later.
It's your hands that I need.
I don't need your tongue or your mind.
I'm lucky that those hands belong to a true believer.
With the patience, endurance and perseverance that you learn...
you're the best person to carry out this job.
You're not telling me what I have to do.
I know my decision goes against your beliefs.
You believe God gives life and takes it when he sees fit.
But there comes a time when a man can't go on.
He's exhausted and can't wait for God to act.
So he decides to act himself.
There, that's what's called suicide.
You see, the word "suicide" isn't only made for dictionaries.
It has to have a practical application.
And here's the application.
Man has to decide on its application.
I don't really understand. Tell me what I have to do.
If I can, I'll do it for you.
I've decided to free myself from this life.
How come?
It wouldn't help you to know...
and I can't talk about it.
And you wouldn't understand.
It's not because you don't understand,
but you can't feel what I feel.
You can sympathize, understand, show compassion.
But feel my pain? No.
You suffer, and so do I. I understand you.
You comprehend my pain, but you can't feel it.
That's why I ask you to be a true Muslim and help me.
Can you?
Yes, I understand you. But suicide is wrong.
Because the hadith...
our 12 imams and the Koran mention suicide
and say that man mustn't kill himself.
God entrusts man's body to him.
Man must not torment that body.
I understand you, but suicide, viewed from every angle...
That's right, but I told you that I didn't need a lecture.
If I had wanted a lecture,
I'd have turned to someone with more experience,
who's finished his studies.
I'm simply asking for a helping hand.
My hand does God's justice.
What you want wouldn't be just.
I know that suicide is one of the deadly sins.
But being unhappy is a great sin too.
When you're unhappy, you hurt other people.
Isn't that a sin too?
When you hurt others, isn't that a sin?
Hurting your family, your friends,
hurting yourself.
Isn't that a sin?
If I hurt you, isn't that a sin...
but if I kill myself, it is?
You're right.
Hurting the people close to you is a great sin too.
I think that God is merciful and so great
that he doesn't want to see his creatures suffer.
He's so great that he can't possibly want to force us to live.
That's why he grants man this solution.
Have you ever thought about the meaning of this?
I've thought about it, but not like you have.
In any case, talking won't get us anywhere.
This isn't the time or place.
Get out now.
Next to that tree, there's a hole.
Go and look. I'll explain afterwards.
Go on. Take a look.
Get in.
I'll explain now.
I've decided to swallow all my sleeping pills tonight
and then come and lie down in that hole,
to sleep.
What I want you to do is wait until dawn...
then come here, like a kind brother...
and cover me with soil.
That's all.
Of course...
I follow the Koran when it says —
This work will bring you not only heaven's reward
but also a material reward so you won't need to work this summer.
The Koran says you shall not kill yourself.
What's the difference between killing someone
and killing yourself?
Killing yourself is killing.
What's your decision?
Why don't you get out?
My friend has cooked an omelet, and it smells good. Let's eat.
You'll find a solution.
Thank you. I know he's made one, but eggs are bad for me.
- Some other time. Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Mister. Mister.
Mister, move your car. The digger has to work.
Clear the way.
Move your car. The digger has to work.
What are you doing here?
This is no place to sit down.
Are you sick? Come on, move your car.
You can't sleep here.
If you want cement, you have to go to the office.
Come on, move your car.
Why have you come here?
Are you sick?
Do you want some tea?
Stand up. Move your car.
Come on.
Thank you.
So, no more questions?
No.
You've got your bearings? That tree is a good landmark.
Yes.
So no more questions? No problems?
No problems, but...
But what?
When you want to help someone,
you have to do it properly, with all your heart.
It's better. More just and more reasonable.
You can even use your hands instead of a spade.
Keep your feelings for more essential things.
But how?
What's your job?
I already told you.
What specialization?
Shoveling earth doesn't require specialization.
Just shoveling earth.
If I could help in another way,
I'd prefer that.
Just do what I ask.
But what kind of help?
If a man wants to help his fellow man,
he ought to do it differently.
He can save a life.
I won't be responsible for someone's death,
but, since you ask, I'll say yes.
But it's hard. Admit that it's not easy.
If you don't explain your problem,
who can help you?
You don't know me.
But you have relatives, friends, a brother.
Forgive me for prying.
It's either a family problem or debts.
Every problem has its solution.
But if you don't talk,
no one can help you.
We all have problems in life.
If we all chose this way out of every tiny problem,
there would be no one left on earth.
Isn't that right? No one.
Not a living soul.
Turn left, please.
- I don't know this road. - I know it.
It's longer, but better and more beautiful.
I've been a prisoner of this desert for 35 years.
I'll tell you something that happened to me.
It was just after I got married.
We had all kinds of troubles.
I was so fed up with it that I decided
to end it all.
One morning, before dawn,
I put a rope in my car.
My mind was made up. I wanted to kill myself.
I set off for Mianeh. This was in 1960.
I reached the mulberry tree orchards.
I stopped there. It was still dark.
I threw the rope over a tree, but it didn't catch hold.
I tried once, twice, but to no avail.
So then I climbed the tree and tied the rope on tight.
Then I felt something soft under my hand. Mulberries.
Deliciously sweet mulberries.
I ate one. It was succulent.
Then a second and third.
Suddenly, I noticed
that the sun was rising over the mountaintop.
What a sun! What scenery!
What greenery!
All of a sudden, I heard children heading off to school.
They stopped to look at me.
They asked me... to shake the tree.
The mulberries dropped, and they ate.
I felt happy.
Then I gathered some mulberries to take home.
My wife was still sleeping.
When she woke up, she ate mulberries as well.
And she enjoyed them too.
I had left to kill myself,
and I came back with mulberries.
A mulberry saved my life.
You ate mulberries, so did your wife, and everything was fine.
No, it wasn't like that, but I changed.
Afterwards, it was better.
But I had in fact changed my thinking.
I felt better.
Every man on earth has problems in his life.
That's the way it is. There are so many people on earth.
There isn't one family without problems.
I don't know your problem,
otherwise I could explain better.
When you go to see a doctor,
you tell him where it hurts.
Excuse me. You're not Turkish, are you?
Here's a joke. Don't feel offended.
A Turk goes to see a doctor.
He tells him,
"When I touch my body with my finger, it hurts.
When I touch my head, it hurts. My legs — it hurts.
My belly, my hand — it hurts."
The doctor examines him and then tells him...
"Your body's fine, but your finger's broken."
My dear man, your mind is ill, but there's nothing wrong with you.
Change your outlook.
I had left home to kill myself,
but a mulberry changed me,
an ordinary, unimportant mulberry.
The world isn't the way you see it.
You have to change your outlook and change the world.
Be optimistic.
Look at things positively.
You're in your prime.
Because of some minor problem, you want to commit suicide.
For one single problem.
Life is like a train that keeps moving forward
and then reaches the end of the line, the terminus.
And death waits at the terminus.
Of course, death is a solution,
but not at first, not during your youth.
Forgive me for dragging you off along this rocky road.
You think something is good, then realize you're wrong.
The main thing is to think hard.
You believe what you do is right,
but then you realize that you're wrong.
Talk. Say something to give me a breather.
I've talked too much. I've said everything.
I've given a whole speech. Just say something.
Turn left here, please.
In any case, if you don't talk, I'll talk some more.
If you don't talk, I will.
Have you lost all hope?
Have you ever looked at the sky when you wake in the morning?
At dawn, don't you want to see the sun rise?
The red and yellow of the sun at sunset,
don't you want to see that anymore?
Have you seen the moon? Don't you want to see the stars?
The night of the full moon, don't you want to see it again?
You want to close your eyes?
Please, take the right fork.
The people on the other side would like to take a look here,
and you want to rush over there.
Don't you ever want to drink water from a spring again?
Or wash your face in that water?
Turn right.
If you look at the four seasons,
each season brings fruit.
In summer, there's fruit. In autumn too.
Winter brings different fruit, and spring too.
No mother can fill her fridge with such a variety of fruit for her children.
No mother can do as much for her children
as God does for his creatures.
You want to reject all that? You want to give it all up?
You want to give up the taste of cherries?
Don't. I'm your friend. I'm begging you.
Turn right.
Turn right. This is the main road.
Turn left, please.
Before I get out,
I'm going to sing you a song in Turkish.
It means, "My love, I'm flying off, come to me.
I'm hounded from my friend's garden, come to me.
From happy days before,
I've fallen on hard times, come to me."
Tell me. We barely know each other.
You go, I'm your friend. You stay, I'm your friend.
In any case, I'm your friend.
You stay, I'm your friend. You go, I'll be your friend too.
Goodbye.
Do you work here?
Wait. Tell me what you do.
I told you. I work here at the Natural History Museum.
No, I mean tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow, I come at dawn.
I call twice.
"Mister. Mister."
Badii.
"Badii." And you reply.
Then I take your hand to help you out.
And if I don't reply?
You will reply. Inshallah, I know what you'll say.
But what if I don't reply?
I'll do what you asked me to do.
Don't worry.
Say it to put my mind at ease.
Some things are easier to do than to say.
In any case, you'll do it.
If it wasn't for my child, I wouldn't.
Believe me, it's hard.
It's a deal.
I come and I cover you with earth.
You take your money and you leave.
What a relief for you.
I must go. The kids are waiting.
May this money help to cure your child.
Keep your promise, or you won't be blessed.
I hope you'll be all right.
Take this now.
You'll get the rest tomorrow.
Thanks for bringing me back here. Thanks again.
I'll see you at 6:00 tomorrow. Or rather, you'll see me at 6:00.
God willing, you'll see me too.
Take it. Take the money.
Thank you, but no. After I do the job.
Sir, please, could you take our photo?
It's all set. Just press the button.
Thank you.
Hey, what's wrong? Are you in a hurry to die?
He's crazy, man.
Sir!
I want to see the man who just came in.
- Many men come in. - He had a blue jacket.
His name?
He works here. He was carrying a bag.
Many men work here.
He had a bag full of quails for the students, to stuff them.
- What's his name? - I don't know.
He has a sick child, with anemia.
Oh, you mean the old man who works in the workshop.
Mr. Bagheri.
Yes, Mr. Bagheri. Could you call him?
We can't do that.
- Can I go in? - You need a ticket.
Please. How much is it?
100 tomans.
- Where do I go now? - Follow the path.
Turn right behind the main building.
You'll find Taxidermy.
Taxidermy.
Four, please.
Thanks, Mr. Bagheri. More partridges.
Just as good. What you get is a matter of luck.
Please, girls.
A partridge or a quail.
We were supposed to study quails.
Birds don't fall into the net to make you happy.
Mr. Bagheri, someone for you.
First, you have to lay them on their backs
and wet the thorax feathers with a sponge.
Then slit them open with a scalpel
along the whole length of the body.
Don't cut too deep, or the innards will spill out.
Mr. Bagheri, come and sit with me.
No, thank you. I'm busy.
- Mr. Bagheri, are you well? - Yes, thank you.
That white coat suits you.
Thank you very much.
What were you doing? What birds have you handed out?
Quails.
Quails? Did you kill them?
Yes. For work.
You're well then?
- I have something to tell you. - Go on.
When you come in the morning,
bring two small stones and throw them at me.
I might just be asleep and still alive.
Two stones aren't enough. I'll use three.
Shake my shoulders too. Perhaps I'll be alive.
You promised me.
Even if they behead me, I'll keep my word.
You promised. Don't forget. Don't let me down.
Can you hear me?
Tell your men to stay near the tree to rest.
The shoot is over.
We're here for a sound take.