Las cenizas de la luz.

I have been deeply moved by "The Willow Tree," which I saw this evening as part of an Iranian film series at the Freer Gallery in Washington DC. I am not sure that any Western culture could ever produce something as beautiful, but I hope all westerners see it. It has impressed positively and permanently. I was most moved by the scene of the hero coming back to Iran, and seeing his mother, and then again, when the mother comes to his house after his wife has left. The most beautiful, was our hero looking for the papers in the pond, and finding that special one. The ending is magnificent, as it allows us to ponder which is better, to continue blind, or be blessed again with sight. But in either case he seems condemned. Thank you. James

Begins well. Ends well. The histrionics of the lead character Youssef in the mid-section make the film flounder. The actress Roya Temourian (playing the loyal wife Roya) is beautiful and a delight to watch on screen in this film, though unrecognizable in her recent photographs.

Youssef's sudden interest in Pari and a beautiful woman in a train is both understandable and Quixotic.

The pact with his Creator for regaining sight is interestingly discussed and captured.

A very good movie. The actors and the director have done an awesome job. The photography is pure poetry. The places and the locations are very evocative. The story is very deep. It makes you see the world with totally different eyes. A simple plot of a blind man regaining his sight is turned into into a masterpiece of emotions. Some scenes in the movie are really powerful and are there to stay within you, deep inside. Yusef the hero of the film is a strong character. Depite his blindness, as a professor he has done a lot and won the respect and the hearts of the people. But when he gets his sights back the world around him is totally different and he struggles even more. He is not able to cope with what he sees and his image of his wife and the family and his mother all confuse him. He finds his friends wife attractive and becomes obsessed with meeting her and hearing her voice etc. The scenes depicting Yusef's desires and the confusion are a marvel in direction and acting. There are some over dramatic elements in this movie that could have been avoided but even those scenes have a point in touching the viewer a bit deep and making the point. All in All a superb film. Makes one wonder

Never have I seen such a topic on-reel. And Majid Majidi does it with finesse, cooked up with traces of sentiments and etching up emotions into a beautiful layer of life lesson.

The Willow Tree talks about a taciturn, blind professor and his lives, before and after a surgery that changes his life forever. Before, he is calm and loving. He loves his family & work. Then comes life values and when God puts him on test, things go pumping and wrecking. What brought luck to him, snatches all his glorious memories and turns him into something he never thought he'd become.

The plot goes heavy on the darker and duller side towards the end, depicting how life can turn upside down, if we slip the path once. Chiefly, it talks about the dangers of life that we want or never ever dreamed of. Lots of thing depicted, lots of things to learn, this film is a perfect blend of life and interpretation. It cannot be debated as to why the divine power creates things as they are and this story gives us a promising insight. Cast is so beautifully active, the message is brightly conveyed. Music is very good.

BOTTOM LINE: Majidi is a master and as like all his films, this one is another feather in his hat.

Profanity/Vulgarity/Sex/Porn: No | Violence: Mediocre | Gore/Alcohol/Smoking: No | Gore: Mediocre

This film can be described as a companion piece to Majidi's highly acclaimed Color of Paradise. In that movie, in which a father saw his blind son as a burden and not as a blessing, we (& eventually the father) began to "see" the world from the blind boy's view and in doing so saw a much richer, meaningful world. Here, the characters of the father and the son are embodied in a single person: Yusef who after 38 years of being blind regains his sight. What he sees, however, is quite different to what he "saw" as a blind man, and not necessarily more beautiful or rewarding. Majidi takes the viewer to a higher, more spiritual world and in doing so creates another masterpiece. Majidi's movies are visually stunning and have such a profound effect on the viewer that when we leave the cinema, we see the world in a different light. Parviz Parastoui, one of the best actors in the Iranian cinema and theatre, is outstanding as Yusef. Also worth mentioning is Mahmood Kelari's exceptional photography. As in all Majidi films, there are scenes which will stay with you long after the movie is over.