The Apple (Sib) (1998)

80% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(985 ratings)

This Iranian drama, scripted by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, was directed by his 17-year-old daughter, Samirah Makhmalbaf. His screenplay is based on factual news accounts of two 11-year-old girls who were locked away from the world by their parents until social workers stepped in. Shooting in video and on… More This Iranian drama, scripted by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, was directed by his 17-year-old daughter, Samirah Makhmalbaf. His screenplay is based on factual news accounts of two 11-year-old girls who were locked away from the world by their parents until social workers stepped in. Shooting in video and on celluloid, the two Makhmalbafs managed to get the actual family members to portray themselves in this docudrama that follows the two girls, Zahre and Masume, returning home after their release from state custody. The film explores the motivations of the girls' father and their desire to play outside the gates of their home. Shown at the 1998 Fajr Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Samira Makhmalbaf
Written By: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Kids & Family, Art House & International

In Theaters: Feb 19, 1999 Limited
Studio: Makhmalbaf Productions

Critic Reviews

Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
Veracity is undermined by the very idea that the subjects somehow are actors in their own story -- and yet The Apple is still quite touching.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
This tiny, alternately simple and complex movie is fascinating on a number of levels.
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
Makhmalbaf elicits remarkably unaffected performances.
Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
an allegory of Iran's longed-for emergence from repressive tradition into a more liberating modernity (especially for women).
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
Es un cine fundamental, básico y humano que enriquece la diversidad que siempre deberían mostrarnos las pantallas.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Presents a severe critique of the continued shabby treatment of women in patriarchial societies.
John Mount, Sight and Sound
Makhmalbaf's impeccable feature-film debut is a witty and precociously intelligent docudrama.
, E! Online
A little bit of Hollywood might have spiced up this fascinating -- but maddeningly slow -- true story.
Wesley Morris, San Francisco Examiner
At once an effulgent exercise in life-affirmation and a bemusingly crude piece of exploitative filmmaking.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
As that old axiom goes, truth is stranger than fiction. Unless, of course, the fiction in question is one that's based on some very strange truths.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
Samira Makhmalbaf was only 18 when she made The Apple, but it is a surprisingly mature, assured piece of work.