(Tadjrobeh). An adolescent boy, old for his years like so many of Kiarostami's (or Iran's) working children, juggles a job as a photographer's assistant, a first crush, and the urge to sample adulthood's temptations (cigarettes and movies). This beautiful exercise in storytelling virtually without words is shot with the crispness and stark contrasts of Kiarostami's still photography. But this vista teems with humanity—not only that of the boy, who is essentially without family (he sleeps at the photography lab), but of the adults he encounters (and who invariably let him down) on the urban pathways he courses. In his young actor, Kiarostami found a face and soul made for the screen.

—Judy Bloch

• Written by Kiarostami, from a story by Amir Naderi. Photographed by Ali Reza Zarrindast. With Hassan Yar-Mohamadi, Parviz Naderi, Andre Guvalovich. (60 mins, In Farsi with English subtitles)

Preceded by shorts:
Bread and Alley (Nan va koutcheh) (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1970). A hostile dog complicates a boy's journey through an alley with a loaf of bread. (10 mins, No dialogue)
Recess (Zang-e tafrih, a.k.a. Breaktime) (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1972). A dark tale in which a boy is punished for misbehaving at school—and when freedom rings, life outside doesn't welcome his participation either. (14 mins, No dialogue, Text in Farsi with English electronic subtitles)

• (Total running time: 84 mins, B&W, 35mm, From Kanoon)