• Blackboards (2000)

    Itinerant Kurdish teachers Said (Said Mohamadi) and Reeboir (Bahman Ghobadi) find many uses for the blackboards they tote, some of which actually pertain to education. Others include doubling as a gurney to carry a sick man, as shields from the warfare along the Iran-Iraq border and as a dowry so Said can wed the widow Halaleh (Behnaz Jafari). When Halaleh's son and a group of his peers tag along with Said and Reeboir, they try to impart their knowledge to the boys amid the surrounding chaos.

Blackboards
64
metacriticBased on 13 Critics

Release Date: 2000

DVD Release Date: February 17th, 2004

Not Yet Rated |1 hr 25 min

Plot Summary

Itinerant Kurdish teachers Said (Said Mohamadi) and Reeboir (Bahman Ghobadi) find many uses for the blackboards they tote, some of which actually pertain to education. Others include doubling as a gurney to carry a sick man, as shields from the warfare along the Iran-Iraq border and as a dowry so Said can wed the widow Halaleh (Behnaz Jafari). When Halaleh's son and a group of his peers tag along with Said and Reeboir, they try to impart their knowledge to the boys amid the surrounding chaos.

Cast: Bahman Ghobadi, Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari

Director: Samira Makhmalbaf

Genres: Drama

Keywords: 1980s , Sacrifice , Emotional , Husband , Inspiring , Wife , Quest , Son

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Ratings & Reviews

  • 88
    Wesley MorrisBoston Globe

    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. show more

  • 88
    V.A. MusettoNew York Post

    Makhmalbaf finds room for moments of humor and humanity. show more

  • 100
    David SterrittChristian Science Monitor

    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. show more

See all critic reviews on metacritic.com