Le costume de mariage

The plot is quite simple: a mother ordered a suit for her son to attend his sister's wedding. It turned out that the tailor's assistant and some of his teenage friends planned to borrow the jacket and return it before morning, then things got complicated because of that. Even in his early works, Abbas Kiarostami was able to bring to life simple stories but focused on social commentary regarding class differences. With a duration of only about one hour, A Suit for Wedding is a funny, tense, but also satirical film. Kiarostami's ability to use children's characters as vocal points in depicting people's social life is truly amazing, observational and impressive.

Think of it as Iranian neo-realism, except without squalid poverty or the second act dramatic turnaround of Jafar Panahi's The Mirror. This follows three Iranian teens, one of whom works in a tailor's shop. A new suit is being made for a fourth, upper-class teen and his two friends both want to borrow it. Inevitable complications arise. For 52 minutes, Kiarostami follows his subjects through work and play, constantly shooting their mouths off and trying to avoid getting in trouble with their guardians. This is a fascinating look at life before the revolution with a generous dose of humor. Kiarostami has said that if his film cans could talk, this one would say, "Why did you make me this length?" The barely hour long running time ensures that this perfect little gem will never get the exposure it deserves.

For such a simple story, Kiarostami gives us a real sense of indignation over the boy who is a habitual liar, and tension in the fate of the tailor's apprentice over the suit he's unwisely loaned out for the night. Clocking in at just 60 minutes, this one quietly packs a punch as it unfolds, and is well worth seeing.

Hidden in the simplicity is commentary about class, as it's an affluent boy the suit has been made for, after his mom has prattled on about how she's letting him forge his own path in life. We find out he had a suit made just two years prior but outgrew it, and now needs another for his sister's wedding. It's quite a contrast to the working boys, one of whom (the liar) has already dropped out of high school, and who vies with another just to wear it for a single night. They've apparently done this before too, and with varying degrees of success relative to not damaging the garment. To get a glimpse of where the boy's troubles may come from when we see his older brother beating him at the end was unexpected and powerful in a subtle way.

There is also commentary about generational differences, as an old man at the end rages on like a lunatic about how things were different in the past, and his own glory days with women. The deep sense of humanism typical to Kiarostami's work comes from the tailor himself, who mollifies this man as well as the mother, all with such calm dignity. All that and a simple magic show too. Quite a nice little gem.