A later re-viewing, or perhaps speaking Farsi, might lead me to a greater appreciation of this film. Iranian cinema is something I am just starting to explore and surely appreciate, but this film failed to draw me in as say "Gabbeh," "Dayareh" or "Color of Paradise" did.<br /><br />Of course the lead character, is intentionally enigmatic; opaque to us in terms of why he might seek suicide. The landscape is a harsh, bitter orange, almost as if he were in some form of hell already. For me, never having a connection with this lead character, pushes me towards those he encounters...but they too are distant. Indeed the point of the first two, is their wanting to maintain that distance. Contrast this with the film "Goodbye, Solo" (coincidentally by an Iranian-American, or perhaps vice versa), where the depth of the characters, despite a remote lead, was remarkable. But of course that was in English, so perhaps Farsi-speakers would resonate more here with the characters.<br /><br />Certainly the third passenger, was the most fascinating. And the fact that his job is a taxidermist, quite a nice touch. And perhaps more familiarity with the Koran would have helped me in the echoes of the film.<br /><br />Anyways, this film reminds me of stage play (it was not one originally), which works fine for me typically but I think for some viewers that can be a bit of a turn-off. The slow pace is also mentioned, but this pace is nothing compared to Angelopoulos' amazing work, so again that is not what failed for me. I saw this *before* reading Jonathan Rosenbaum's "Movie Wars" where he frequently cites this film as one of his all-time favorites.<br /><br />I think this is a great film for film critics, as it is an open film in a way, open to wide-ranging interpretation. Is the filmmaker himself embarking on his own suicide of sorts in making this film in/for Iran? I mentioned the taxidermist, one who preserves the dead in a life-like state, and the other passengers are those who can be seen as people who are chartered with protecting and/or killing other people, but when it comes to a single person, that is more trying.<br /><br />So perhaps there is more open than the grave in this film, regrettably at this point I am a casual casualty. Perhaps watching this with others instead of solo would have helped me, alas I say "Goodbye" to this buy hopefully another hello to Kiarostomi.<br /><br />4/10 Thurston Hunger