Abbas Kiarostami (1940 - 2016)

I don’t know how many of you are aware, but Japan is historically known for its incredible performing arts scene. From cinema to acting, Japan excels in the realm of the performing arts and its relative arenas. Its prevalent themes of inferiority v. superiority, man v. man, and man v. nature, for example, are incredibly fascinating to watch, especially on the big screen. What’s more fascinating is when a filmmaker from a completely different world attempts to grapple with these ideas and the tenants of Japanese cinema in his or her own work. Not only is this a challenge, it is an undertaking only a master would combat. That’s why when you get an Iranian filmmaker in the form of Abbas Kiarostami, who has performed the task of creating a work of Japanese cinema in Like Someone in Love, you know the news of his death is gonna hit the cinematic community hard.

Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian filmmaker who was adamant in his refusal to leave Iran when many intellectuals were fleeing due to violence and war. His argument was that he needed to stay as an artistic voice that was hard to find in such stages of turmoil in his country. And, thank God he did, because we wouldn’t have such beautiful pieces of work from him. Additionally, that’s why his work Like Someone in Love remains so fascinating. It is an Iranian piece of work set in Japan, and spoken in Japanese, from, of course, an Iranian filmmaker. Not only did Kiarostami have the task of making this film in Japanese, he had the task of making this film in cinematic Japanese -- two very different things.

Let’s hope the world remembers Abbas Kiarostami for who he was, a genius with a talent so rare and effervescent, that he could transcend the barrier of language with his knowledge of the universal language of cinema. He was able to create a Japanese work as an Iranian - and that takes a deep understanding of what unites us all in cinema. A truly deep understanding.