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Blackboards

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 0 votes
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Foreign
Written by:
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Samira Makhmalbaf
Directed by: Samira Makhmalbaf
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 6, 2002
DVD:
Running Time: 85 minutes, Color
Origin: Iran / Italy / Japan
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Bahman Ghobadi, Mohamad Karim Rahmati, Rafat Moradi, Mayas Rostami, Saman Akbari, and Ahmad Bahrami
A group of male teachers crosses the mountainous paths of the remote Iranian Kurdistan region. Carrying large blackboards on their backs, they wander from village to village in search of students. (Kimstim Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Makhmalbaf continues her rise as Iran's most promising young female filmmaker, and Iranian cinema extends its reign as one of the world's most exciting cultural phenomena.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
The stripped-down dramatic constructs, austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics, obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
Makhmalbaf finds room for moments of humor and humanity.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Like so much Iranian cinema, Blackboards is a work of lyrical propaganda. But its metaphors are opaque enough to avoid didacticism, and the film succeeds as an emotionally accessible, almost mystical work.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
An indelible and ultimately moving vision of humanity buffeted by the elements and by international political tides.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
A fascinating allegory of life in Iranian Kurdistan, a remote borderland still deeply scarred by years of war with Iraq.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Director Samira Makhmalbaf made this raw and effective parable with the recognizable help of her father, legendary director Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
Like many other Iranian films, Blackboards counters the generally broadcast ideas about this part of the world. It is a testament of quiet endurance, of common concern, of reconciled survival.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
We've got the trademark elements but not their magical bonding, and the result is a selection of scenes in search of a movie.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Episodic and minimalist to a fault, Blackboards makes its ironic point about education, then makes it again a few times over for good measure, rarely expanding beyond its narrow seriocomic agenda.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
Blackboards is both shrill and soporific, and because everything is repeated five or six times, it can seem tiresomely simpleminded.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
