This was the very first Iranian film to gain international
recognition. Banned in Iran for a year after its making, it was smuggled
out to the Venice Film Festival, where its success paved the way for
Kiarostami and the rest - but it's of much more than historical
interest. The story is set in an impoverished village where owning a
single cow gives a man immense power, while losing it can drive him mad.
Simple enough, but by dealing unflinchingly with basic truths about
human beings – our capacity for pride and humility, our secrets and lies
– it attains the level of a universal tragedy.
