Ten

Ten documents a series of ten conversations, all of which take place within the confines of a car. The car in question belongs to a middle class Iranian woman, who drives around in Tehran’s bustling streets with various passengers, over a period of several days. She picks up her 12 year old son, a troublesome child who constantly criticises her for divorcing and moving away from his father. She gives lifts to different women, including her sister, a pious woman visiting a mausoleum, a prostitute and an old lady. Their conversations, combined with subtle changes in the characters’ clothes and demeanour, provide a broader picture of women’s place in Iranian society. Core issues such as marriage, religion and love get dressed down within the narrow confines of the car walls, which the camera never leaves, and which functions alternatively as breathing space, a confessional, as well as a prison cell.

Ten was an important inspiration for Iranian director Jafar Panahi, whose Golden Bear winning film Taxi uses the same premise to underscore personal and political issues in current day Iran.