Taste of Cherry 1998

Badii, a middle-aged man, drives through the bustling streets of Tehran, searching for someone to assist him with a deeply personal task for which he is offering a significant amount of money. As he picks up various candidates, he confides in them about his intention to end his life and shares that he has already dug his grave. He instructs each person to return the next morning to either help him take a step back from his decision or to bury him if he has gone through with it. However, he refrains from diving into the reasons behind his choice to commit suicide.

His first potential recruit is a young and timid Kurdish soldier, who becomes overwhelmed by the conversation and quickly abandons Badii’s car in fear. Next, Badii approaches an Afghan seminarist, who also turns away, citing his religious beliefs against the act of suicide. The third candidate, Abdolrahman Bagheri, is an Azeri taxidermist who, facing financial difficulties due to his sick child, reluctantly agrees to help Badii. He passionately attempts to dissuade Badii from his grim decision by recounting his own prior struggle with suicidal thoughts back in 1960, a time when he ultimately chose to embrace life after tasting delicious mulberries that fell from a tree. This moment changed everything for him, as he returned home to share the mulberries with his wife, who found joy in them.

Bagheri extols the beauty of existence, from breathtaking sunrises to the allure of the moon and stars. He promises that if Badii is indeed dead come morning, he will gently throw dirt upon him. However, as Badii drops him off at work, he suddenly realizes he wants a contingency plan—asking Bagheri to confirm if he’s truly lifeless by tossing a few stones his way to awaken him if he’s only asleep.

As darkness falls, Badii lays within his own grave while a powerful thunderstorm rumbles above. After a protracted moment of uncertainty and a blackout, the film concludes by breaking the fourth wall with behind-the-scenes camcorder footage featuring Kiarostami and his crew in the middle of filming Taste of Cherry, leaving audiences in suspense regarding Badii’s ultimate decision.