IndieWire names Homayoun Ershadi among best of 90s

International film industry website Indiewire has named veteran Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi among the 25 best movie performers of the 90s.

With late Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Close-Up’ being recently placed in the top 10 on IndieWire’s list of the decade’s best films, now Ershadi gained the spot for his staggering role in Kiarostami’s Palme d’Or winner ‘Taste of Cherry’.

The article, which was published as part of IndieWire’s ’90s Week spectacular, starts with a note that reads, “With that face — deeply expressive, like an older, more world-weary Oscar Isaac — and the sensitive hurt that passed through it, it’s hard to believe Homayoun Ershadi wasn’t an actor before Abbas Kiarostami cast him as the lead role in his eventual ‘Taste of Cherry’”.

Pointing to the fact that Kiarostami was looking for a non-professional actor when he approached Ershadi behind the wheel in traffic in Tehran, the IndieWire writes, “In Ershadi he found someone who wasn’t going to act to the camera so much as act with the camera present.”

“The result is at once both strikingly naturalistic and quietly radical, as the film’s static long-takes rebuke traditional notions of coverage while highlighting the interstitial nuances of Ershadi’s character that other directors might omit,” the article writes.

IndieWire also dubbed Ershadi’s performance a “subtle joy” with the “imperfections of his performance seem like they’re being shot with close-ups."

Previously, ‘Taste of Cherry’ was shortlisted by UK daily The Guardian among the 10 best film in the history of Festival de Cannes, followed by Carol Reed's 'The Third Man'.

A brief synopsis of the film reads, "A dispirited man who wants to take his life lies in a grave. There is someone trying to talk him out, reminding him of the taste and joys of this life just like the taste of cherry."

The movie took home the first Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival for Iranian cinema.

MM/AG