Ten (2002)

86% of critics liked it
(51 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(3,890 ratings)

Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami uses the casual setting of one woman's automobile as the setting for a subtle but potent look at gender issues in the Middle East. Mania Akbari plays a nameless woman who, over the course of several days, gives a number of friends, family members, and… More Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami uses the casual setting of one woman's automobile as the setting for a subtle but potent look at gender issues in the Middle East. Mania Akbari plays a nameless woman who, over the course of several days, gives a number of friends, family members, and acquaintances a ride in her car across town, among them her young son who is still upset over his parent's recent divorce; her sister; a close friend who has just been abandoned by her boyfriend; an older woman on her way to a worship service; another friend soon to be married; and a veteran streetwalker. As the woman and her passengers ride through Tehran, their conversations cast a light on her views of herself, as well as the ways other women view themselves and the larger world around them. Director Kiarostami shot Ten using two small digital video cameras, one of which was mounted on the car's dashboard, the other in a fixed position in the back seat, using this purposefully stark approach to keep the focus on the characters and their ideas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Special Interest

In Theaters: Mar 5, 2003 Limited
On DVD: Nov 2, 2004
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

Critic Reviews

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
A major minimalist departure for Kiarostami.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
A very interesting film, despite structural limitations that keep it from approaching greatness.
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle
A rare chance for viewers to eavesdrop on everyday talk in Tehran that, although fictionalized, must approximate what really happens in Iran's busy capital.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Ten may strain your patience but that's the high-stakes gamble of this provocative project.
Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
A conceptual tour de force and a brainiac's road movie, Abbas Kiarostami's Ten goes from chilly abstraction to hot emotion in less than 60 seconds.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It shows us, in an extraordinarily simple way, the hopes and frustrations of one woman's life.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Often provokes humor and refreshing insights.
Greg Muskewitz, eFilmCritic.com
... [S]ticking with it provides further insight into Kiarostami's psychology and society ...
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
A fine film.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
A point made to distraction.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Abbas Kiarostami has created, for all of its filmic simplicity - static camera, minimalist settings and obviously from the hip filmmaking (you can watch as the curious drive by the lady's car and rubberneck) - has created a nicely complex character study
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Who would have thought a movie centered on a driver and her passengers that never leaves the car could be so compellingly watchable? Ten is not only a fascinating character study, but a portrait of an entire way of life.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
A little more reach would have allowed Ten to turn it up to 11.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Whatever the film lacks in physical lyricism, it makes up for with a claustrophobic flair that leads you to conclude that Ten can be the loneliest number.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Totalmente realista! uma visÃ£o do mundo reprimido das mulheres iranianas. Um grande debate sobre a sociedade, que ocorre todo dentro de um carro. Prende o espectador atÃ (C) o fim e o faz refletir sobre as questÃµes contemporÃ¢nias. Feito de forma bem simples, o filme Ã (C)… More
Totalmente realista! uma visÃ£o do mundo reprimido das mulheres iranianas. Um grande debate sobre a sociedade, que ocorre todo dentro de um carro. Prende o espectador atÃ (C) o fim e o faz refletir sobre as questÃµes contemporÃ¢nias. Feito de forma bem simples, o filme Ã (C) inspirador e maravilhoso.
Ross C

Hmmm... a bit too arty for me! Filmed like a home video and entirely shot in one Iranian women's car, this film explores both Iranian and womens' life through her various passengers.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Ten" is a collection of digitally shot vignettes centered around an unknown driver in Iran. She is in her 30's, been divorced and remarried and has one of the most annoying children on record as one of her passengers. In each of the vignettes,… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Ten" is a collection of digitally shot vignettes centered around an unknown driver in Iran. She is in her 30's, been divorced and remarried and has one of the most annoying children on record as one of her passengers. In each of the vignettes, there is a passenger that the driver carries on a conversation with. The movie takes place over a series of days, each of which might be a Friday.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]Nearly all of the Iranian films I have seen over the past few years I have liked. The lone exception to this is "A Taste of Cherry", also directed by Abbas Kiarostami. I now understand what I don't like about that movie - it is about a man who drives around looking for someone to help him to commit suicide. This is the most important decision this person will ever make but it is handled so matter of factly and without emotion, it's not very credible. A few years later, Kiarostami has not moved on - "Ten" is also about a random person driving around except it almost seems like a lost episode of "Taxicab Confessions". The only segment that has any resonance is one involving a prostitute. There is very little depth here. This might have worked had it been set in Los Angeles, perhaps as a comment on automobile culture. And it definitely would have helped if the whole movie had taken place during a single day.[/font]
Lesley N

Documentary about a woman taxi driver's life in Tehran, told solely by filming conversations between her and her passengers over a 48-hour period. Taxi-drivers do love to talk so.

Ten (2002)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Ross C

Walter M

Lesley N

Cast

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