Often it's the smallest and simplest observations on life that are the most emotionally resonant

and impactful, as is the case with Abbas Kiarostami's 1987 film Where Is the Friend's Home?,
where we see immense compassion and loyalty from a child who navigates a world of adults
who do not listen to him or consider that he even has feelings as he tries to return his friends
schoolbook to help avoid him getting expelled. This is Kiarostami at his most narratively
conventional, but he still manages to fill each and every frame with the same humanism he
displays throughout his oeuvre, and what is most interesting is the cyclical nature of destruction
present, where ''children should be seen and not heard'', whilst adults are presented acting in a
similarly dismissive manner toward each other, which is typically the end result of such
parenting flowing through into adulthood. We see a contrast between generations, and the
expectations placed on children from harsh disciplinarians and hypocrites, and through this lens
on society we are able to feel immense compassion for the plight of youth as they are moulded
and shaped by negative forces from such a young age. Visually, Kiarostami once again applies
his signature zig-zag road motif that will flow through his work and symbolise his characters
journey and life choices.

While the hero’s journey is a simple premise, Kiarostami’s style of realism is characterized by an
economy of form, which is deceptively simple — especially in the structuring device of asking for
directions, the answers to which are never straightforward. In this way, Kiarostami asks the
viewer to interact with the narrative, to pick up and weave its threads. For example, near the
beginning of his search Ahmed comes upon a classmate named Morteza, who he enlists for
directions and help. Earlier in the day, the boy was scolded for being under a desk and not
paying attention, and when the teacher asked why, the boy simply replied that his back hurt. The
character is soon forgotten until Ahmed encounters his classmate again in Poshteh, the village
where his friend is said to live. Morteza is seen retrieving heavy containers laden with milk, and
the puzzle of why his back hurt is immediately apparent. Although Morteza cannot accompany
Ahmed, as the milk must be tended to, he offers help in the form of unconventional directions to
Nematzadeh’s cousin’s neighbourhood: “…in Khanevar, up the hill, there’s a staircase in front
and a blue door right by a bridge.”

The film is laden with subtlety of day to day happenings in such a way that it almost makes it
poetic. For example, the beginning shot starts with a door and the director, quite like a skilled
craftsman, repeats the concept of doors in the entire movie. In a thematic sense, this opening
scene pretty much sums up the whole film. Doors play a big part in the film's thematic core.
Through that very concept of doors Kiarostami makes us see the hardship of the old carpenter
as well as the struggle of the person who is trying to sell the iron doors and windows.

The movie is filled with things repeating on and on. For example the dialogue between Ahmad
and his mother when he asks for permission to go and return the notebook or when his mother
asks him to eat dinner or the repeating persuading pitch to buy the iron door. The director
through this shows the simple mundane but repeating life of the Iranian society.

Other than the celebration of childhood, I felt the film is also a restrained study of the
modernisation of Iran. There are references to the fact that people are leaving the villages and
flocking to the cities. The door here again becomes a symbol as we are informed that people
are gradually starting to reject the old fashioned doors(and windows) and starting to opt for the
newer iron-made ones. I guess Kiarostami in a spiritual way is equating the innocence of village
life with the innocence of a child.The film manages to create as well as maintain suspense the
entire time. Everytime it seems that Ahmad is just about to find his friend's house, the director
skillfully prolongs the journey. The audience is hooked to the journey of the young Ahmad the
entire time.

This masterpiece of a movie ends with a beautiful shot of a flower between the pages of the
notebook which symbolises hope and is a trademark Kiarostami work.