1 24 Frames

Neither a fictional film nor, strictly speaking, a traditional documentary, late Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami’s 24 Frames is an experimental endeavor that plumbs the nature of non-fiction imagery­—and, in doing so, proves a haunting meditation on mortality from a filmmaker who knew this would be his final work. Kiarostami’s unique effort features twenty-four still images, all of which (save for the first, Bruegel’s 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow) he took himself, and which come to animated life through computer-generated means. There’s no straightforward drama to any of these scenes, each of which lasts approximately four-and-a-half-minutes. Yet there are patterns, which slowly emerge to suggest unifying themes of isolation, loneliness, and the inexorable forward march of time. That journey, of course, ultimately leads to the grave, and death hangs like a specter over these imaginative proceedings. Just as powerful, though, is the cine-affection that Kiarostami expresses throughout, culminating with an Andrew Lloyd Webber-scored celebration of the undying nature of love.



Honorable Mention: Free Solo; McQueen; Monrovia, Indiana; The Road Movie; Hitler’s Hollywood; Three Identical Strangers; Shirkers; Angels Are Made of Light; Watergate, Or: How We Learned to Stop an Out of Control President; Divide & Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes