A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)

I stumbled on a DVD copy of this film by accident, although I have had very good experience with Iranian cinema in the past.This film is about the hardship that children living near the Iraq/Iran border some ten years ago had to endure to survive. On a daily bases they toiled as adults to carry heavy loads like donkeys, face the threat of land mines and guns from border patrols, a harsh winter, and other challenging elements. Ayoub played the 12-year old who is now the head of the family after his father's death. His acting, and that of the rest of the children, are convincing. Despite poverty and daily challenges, the family siblings took care of each other, including a deformed and ailing brother, with love and a strong bond.The ending is open-ended, probably by design. Scenery of the location is visually pleasant. The plot can be tightened up a bit but, despite the film's slow pace, it is worth watching as a window to lives in the other, less privileged part of the world.

When your own, Western, cosseted and safe children start moaning about not having the latest 'must-have', play them this. They'll soon shut up, I promise!From the moment I first watched this enigmatically titled film on TV many years ago, I knew it was to become an absolute favourite of mine. Now, at last, I've got it on DVD and can watch it again (& again).There's something very resolutely matter-of-fact in these people's harshness and the extents to which they have to go to address them. It seems ironic - and a bit ridiculous here in the West, where we like a a drink or two, that liquor is not drunk by people, but force fed to the pack mules and horses to numb them enough to make dangerous black-market trips over the snowbound mountain and into Iraq.The main characters are the children, totally without whimsy or sentiment that simply try and make do without parents. That this includes a severely handicapped boy who not only needs daily medication but an operation to prolong his life - and their inventive means to try and fund that is bound to fire our emotions and one admires with both pride and pity.This is definitely one of those very rare (& indeed, it is rare, i.e difficult to see/get hold of) that WILL affect you and probably far more than you'd dare realise. Ten out of 10.

This film is a masterpiece in Iranian cinema. Its rare for other films to convey as much emotion as this one did, yet maintaining a very dramatic and professional vibe. Ghobadi's work as an assistant truly paid off and this film is undoubtebly in my top 10 Iranian films of all time. a masterpiece.

In his most recent film, "A Time for Drunken Horses," Director Bahman Ghobadi depicts the hardship of life in the Kurdish region straddling the border between Iran and Iraq.At the beginning of the film, a truck full of children makes its way through the snowy Iranian mountains. The large group of children sing in Arabic about how the winding road makes them older. You get the sense that they don't really know what they are singing about, but the song is indicative of how many of these children will be thrust into the realities of adulthood with little warning and even less preparation.A young Kurd, Ayoub, must avert government brutality and raise the money to pay for an operation for his ailing younger brother.Their father has just been killed by authorities and the teen must work to provide for the rest of the family. The only way he can raise the money is by smuggling goods across the border from Iraq to Iran, risking extremely cold temperatures, land mines and military raids.Much to his credit, Ghobadi uses locals instead of professional actors throughout the film. The children who portray the three major characters (Ayoub, his sister Amaneh and their young, disabled brother Madi) give brilliant, fresh performances. Ayoub and Amaneh are convincing as a brother and sister attempting to hold their family together.These children shed real tears. In a particularly impressive moment, Ayoub wrestles to move a drunken mule who won't budge as troops with rifles converge on his convoy. The power of his fear and frustration lights up the screen.By the same token, some of the adult actors are unprofessional and wooden. Minor characters, like Ayoub's uncle, are painful to watch as they attempt to act. But thankfully these characters are periphery. As an artistic film coming from the Middle East, one might not expect much from the technical aspects of the film. The cinematography, however, rivals some of the slickest Hollywood productions. The sweeping ice-blue snow that lines the mountains in the film provides a stark contrast with the characters' bright costumes, particularly Madi's trademark, tiny yellow raincoat.The textured sound design adds depth to the picture. The rich, crisp amplification of even the tiniest sounds are an example of the film's attention to detail. From the buttoning of a coat to the smacking of lips, small sounds stand out and give the film an intimate feel. The film derives its title from the mules that are given alcohol so they'll traverse the snowy terrain.At the end of the film, when Ayoub is trying to get Madi across the border, the drunken mules turn out to be a blessing in disguise. And the ambiguous final shot will make you cringe.Briskly paced, the film unearths beauty in simplicity. Ghobadi clearly is a talented director, and in this film about growing up too fast he paints a beautiful, sad picture.