Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7745 in VHS
• Released on: 1999-06-28
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: PAL, Subtitled
• Original language: Farsi
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 84 minutes

Synopsis
Twin girls, the daughters of a blind mother and poor father, are kept inside their home as virtual prisoners. Their father believes that they must not be exposed to the sun. A social worker attempts to persuade the family that it is in the best interests of the girls to allow them the chance to explore the outside world. Based on a true story. Farsi dialogue.

Customer Reviews

A simple and touching film
This is one of those films that expands in the mind after you have seen it. The storyline is simple, following two girls who have been locked up throughout their lives and are now set free into the city. And yet, the poor father and blind mother who locked the children inside are sympathetically portrayed. Themes of poverty, isolation and deprivation are subtly explored as the two sisters wander around learning how to play with other children, playing with mirrors, ice-cream and apples.

This is a film which is charming and has much natural humour. It is compassionate and above all, shows us something visually through the medium of film which couldn't have been expressed in any other way. Wonderful.

Fascinating mock documentary
Families are massively important. Seventeen year old Samira Makhmalbaf is following her father's, Mohsen, vocation in becoming a highly regarded film director. He also wrote the screenplay for 'The Apple' in which twelve year old twins, Zahra and Massoumeh, have been virtually imprisoned in their own home by their impoverished father and blind mother. Neighbours complained that the children had not bathed and could not speak. Makhmalbaf shows the twins attempting to function beyond their parents' wall after social workers have intervened. Their legs are so skinny that they can barely walk; this could be due to lack of practice or malnourishment. They lack social skills to the extent of being unaware that they have to pay for food.

What makes the film remarkable is that it is based on a true incident and uses the family involved. It seems staggering that the father agreed to participate, although he is portrayed as misguided rather than intentionally cruel. His comments reflect how girls are treated differently to boys in traditional Iranian society: 'God made woman for her to marry' and 'My daughters are like flowers. They mustn't be exposed to the sun or they would soon fade'. Yet this mock documentary refuses to condemn and therein lies its power. Even though the mother is seen swearing at her husband and the social worker, it is easy to muster sympathy seeing her terror when she goes out alone and a child dangles an apple in front of her.

An film that you should not miss
The Apple is an outstanding drama-documentary. The 'real' actors in The Apple make the film unforgettable. The sad yet true 'story' makes me laugh with tears.