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Movies / On DVD / Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine
Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine

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Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine (2001)

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Reviews Counted:44

Fresh:31

Rotten:13

Average Rating:6.3/10

Consensus: Hitting upon universal themes, this meditation on death is both poignant and wryly humorous.

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Banned from making films for over twenty years by Iran's Post-Revolutionary Censor Board, Bahman Farmanara returns with SMELL OF CAMPHOR, FRAGRANCE OF JASMINE, a deeply inspiring meditation on... Banned from making films for over twenty years by Iran's Post-Revolutionary Censor Board, Bahman Farmanara returns with SMELL OF CAMPHOR, FRAGRANCE OF JASMINE, a deeply inspiring meditation on existence and death. Farmanara plays Bahman Farjami, a director in his mid-50s who continues to mourn his recently deceased wife. While driving to visit her grave one morning, he picks up a distraught young woman, who turns out to be carrying a stillborn child with her. When he gets to the graveyard, the day quickly turns worse. It appears that a mix-up has occurred and the plot Bahman has reserved for himself, adjacent to his wife's grave, has been mistakenly occupied. Distraught and confused, Bahman visits his doctor only to discover that if he doesn't quit smoking cigarettes, he won't be living much longer. To try to make sense of his demise and the effect it will have on those closest to him, Bahman decides to stage and film his own funeral. But when the morning comes to shoot the morbid recreation, it appears that his own time has come, sparking a realization that teaches Bahman a powerful lesson once and for all. Deftly incorporating his own experiences, Farmanara's personal essay reverberates with a sincerity that most films never achieve. [More]

Starring: Bahman Farmanara, Roya Nonahali, Reza Kianian, Vali Shirandami

Starring: Bahman Farmanara, Roya Nonahali, Reza Kianian, Vali Shirandami, Hossien Kasbian, Firooz Behjat Mahamadi, Mahtaj Noojoomi, Parivash Nazarieh

Director: Bahman Farmanara

Director: Bahman Farmanara
Screenwriter: Bahman Farmanara
Studio: New Yorker Films

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine is not for all tastes, and patient viewers stand the best chance of receiving its rewards, which are, after all, worthwhile.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
04/06/02
Kurt Dahlke
Kurt Dahlke
Apollo Guide

Numerous original touches characterize this recent Iranian export.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/25/01
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

... a lovely meditation on life and death, approached with candor and humor [that] marks the welcome return to movies of a voice silent too long.

Full Review Source: Baseline.Hollywood.com | comment Comment
05/06/01
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Baseline.Hollywood.com

The movie simply does not hold together.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
03/07/01
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Boxoffice Magazine

The director's obsession with death sometimes seems overwrought and self-flagellating.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
09/06/01
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune

An accomplished portrait of a life's final curtain.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/01/01
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Farjami, as Farmanara's alter ego is called in the story, acts out a plot that is second-string Ingmar Bergman.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/30/01
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Somber and haunting with an undertow of mordant wit, Mr. Farmanara's comeback finds its morning in life and nature.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
04/25/02
Jane Sumner
Jane Sumner
Dallas Morning News
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/09/02
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/28/01
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/11/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Depression is a fair subject for a movie, but this much moroseness shouldn't come to this little.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/20/01
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

By turns funny, moving and surreal, the film is difficult to classify -- with its personal content and screwball comedy, it just might be Iran's answer to Woody Allen.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
08/27/01
Adam Nayman
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY

With its weak plotting and production values, Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine will test the patience of the most forgiving filmgoer.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/30/01
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

Farmanara's artistic vision is hit-or-miss and his material hangs together rather slackly

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/16/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
Filmcritic.com

Our comeback tale should end on a classic note of resounding triumph. Should -- but doesn't.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
08/24/01
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

You Should Pay Nine Bucks to See This If: You care anything at all about world cinema.

Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
05/04/01
Dave White
Dave White
IFilm

This slice of the end of a man's life strikes universal themes.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
04/04/01
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Works on a grand scale and in an most intimate way.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/24/01
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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