Smell of Camphor, Frangrance...

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id1900.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scary Movie 2"><U>Scary Movie 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1909.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="See You!"><U>See You!</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1906.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Serendipity"><U>Serendipity</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1904.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sexy Beast"><U>Sexy Beast</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1902.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shadow Magic"><U>Shadow Magic</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1908.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shallow Hal"><U>Shallow Hal</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1899.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shrek"><U>Shrek</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1901.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sidewalks of New York"><U>Sidewalks of New York</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1903.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Signs and Wonders"><U>Signs and Wonders</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1898.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Simon Magus"><U>Simon Magus</U></A>   |   <B>Smell of Camphor, Frangrance...</B>   |   <A HREF="id1896.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Snatch"><U>Snatch</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1905.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Songcatcher"><U>Songcatcher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1910.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Soporanos: The Complete Second Second"><U>Soporanos: The Complete Second Second</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1907.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spy Game"><U>Spy Game</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1895.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stranger Inside"><U>Stranger Inside</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages for</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm"><U><B><U>Movies</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm"><U> </U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B><U>      </U></B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B><U>Books</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <B><U>           </U></B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B><U>Travel</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U> </U></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B><U>Great Web Sites</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Smell of Camphor, Frangrance...</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> <B>Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine </B>*** (Not Rated)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> Nothing is final, except possibly death</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Bahman Farjami: Bahman Farmanara</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Woman Hitchhiker: Roya Nonahali</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Dr. Arasteh: Reza Kianian</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Adbollah: Hossein Kasbian</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Director/Writer: Bahman Farmanara</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: A man in his 50's, who fears death, tries to deal with the future by making a documentary <I>about</I> death.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Bahman Farjami will have a bad day because he is going to visit the grave of his deceased wife. He starts the day off on a good note, however, when he speaks to his son whose wife is expecting a baby at any minute.</div> <bR> <div> On the way to the gravesite, Bahman drives past a woman who is walking along a curving stretch of road. He then backs up to offer her a ride. It's clear that she is distraught and he is concerned when he learns that the baby she is carrying in her arms is only a day old. Not only should she not be wandering on the road, her state of mind has been affected by obvious physical abuse. He offers her money as she leaves the car; she takes only a portion.</div> <bR> <div> Bahman's day does take a downward turn when he arrives at the cemetery and he learns that the woman left something in the car that brings the smell of death closer. Why would she be so cruel to him? It seemed they had a meaningful relationship; as much as one can develop in a few minutes.</div> <bR> <div> When Bahman notices that the grave adjacent to his wife's is occupied, which he bought for himself, he complains to the managers at the cemetery. At first they insist that they can't be wrong- but if they are, they'll make up for it. Possibly he bought a stacked grave rather than an adjacent one.</div> <bR> <div> Bahman's sister calls him later, in a state of panic because her husband is missing. He is right; this is going to be a bad day.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Understanding the title of the film helps us interpret the turn it takes when Bahman starts to have dreams about death. In Iran camphor is associated with death and burial, the winter of one's life. The fragrance of jasmine brings thoughts of spring, and the vitality of youth.   </div> <bR> <div> There is surprising humor here, though the subject is death. Bahman's interplay with his over-bearing sister, his ailing mother and his man-servant are funny and touching.   </div> <bR> <div> Michael Wilmington of the <I>Chicago Tribune</I> says this film is "A cross between Bergman and Fellini." The dream sequences do indeed tend to throw you for a loop, as you are not sure what is in fact reality. People are dying in the film and Bahman is a man in poor health with a weak heart and probably high blood pressure. The combination of his fears and the people who are dying around him may cause him to die or go crazy worrying about it. We shall see or will we?</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Not Rated </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>