The pace of life as chronicled in Babak Jalali’s meandering film is so lethargic it feels in danger of going backwards. That life is parcelled out among various characters on the Turkmen-Iranian border, where a cheerless quiet grips the atmosphere. A young man who owns a pet donkey starts work in a chicken farm. His uncle owns a clothing store with barely any stock. An ageing minstrel recounts the story of how his wife was abducted by a shepherd driving a Mercedes. Frontier blues, indeed, but nothing you can sing along to.
Frontier Blues
