''A Moment of Innocence'' ( fa, نون و گلدون, Nūn o Goldūn, italics=yes) is a 1996 film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. It is also known as ''Nun va Goldoon'', ''Bread and Flower'', ''Bread and Flower Pot'', and ''The Bread and the Vase''.

Plot

The film is a semi-autobiographical account of Makhmalbaf's experience as a teenager when, as a seventeen-year-old, he stabbed a policeman at a protest rally and was jailed. Two decades later, Makhmalbaf made the decision to track down the policeman whom he had injured in an attempt to make amends. ''A Moment of Innocence'' is a dramatization of that real event.

Cast

* Mirhadi Tayebi as The Policeman * Mohsen Makhmalbaf as The Director * Ammar Tafti as The Young Director * Ali Bakhsi as The Young Policeman * Maryam Mohamadamini as The Young Woman

Reception

Critical response

Although the film was banned in Iran, Western critics were very positive toward the film. Mike D'Angelo called ''A Moment of Innocence'' "a dizzying hybrid of autobiography, documentary, and mythology,... bold[]...testament to our innate decency and capacity for love," and said that it "ends with the greatest final freeze-frame since ''The 400 Blows'' -- maybe the greatest final freeze-frame ever."

Stuart Klawans Stuart Klawans has been the film critic for ''The Nation'' since 1988. He also writes a column on the visual arts for ''The New York Daily News''. Education He obtained his degree from Yale University. Awards and honors He won the 2007 National M ...

of '' The Nation'' said readers should contact him immediately "if heysee another film with so urgent and complete an image of people's hurts, fears, needs and dreams." One of the few negative critical reactions came from Mick Lasalle of the '' San Francisco Chronicle'', who called the film "grindingly dull," and "muddled and endless" and implied that Makhmalbaf's filmmaking was "self-indulgent, meandering, pointless and irritating." In the 2012 Greatest Films of All Time critics' poll by Sight & Sound, ''A Moment of Innocence'' was ranked 235th among all films, making it tied with ''

The House is Black ''The House Is Black'' ( fa, خانه سیاه است) is an acclaimed Iranian documentary short film directed by Forugh Farrokhzad. The film is a look at life and suffering in a leper colony and focuses on the human condition and the beauty of ...

'', ''

Where Is the Friend's Home? ''Where Is the Friend's House?'' ( fa, خانه دوست کجاست, italic=yes, ''Khane-ye dust kojast'') is a 1987 Iranian drama film written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami. It depicts a conscientious schoolboy's attempt to return his friend ...

'', and '' The Wind Will Carry Us'' as the second-highest ranked Iranian film (behind ''

Close-Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long s ...

'').

References

External links

*
A Cinematic Gem: The Worldwide of a Moment of Innocence
by Kim Ji-Seok {{DEFAULTSORT:Moment Of Innocence, A 1996 films French drama films Iranian drama films 1996 drama films Films directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf Film controversies in Iran 1990s French films