Woody Allen might have been able to breathe some life into this indulgent mishmash. In the hands of Farmanara, it's deadly dull.
Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine (2001)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine
A compelling Iranian drama about the mini-deaths that can be rehearsals for the great performance at the end of life.
[Farmanara] would have needed the chops of Andrei Tarkovsky -- or else the innocence of Samira Makhmalbaf -- to successfully bring off this fusion of memory, fantasy, and social satire. --
Farjami, as Farmanara's alter ego is called in the story, acts out a plot that is second-string Ingmar Bergman.
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