10 on Ten

This is a film where Abbas Kiarostami talks about his film 'Ten', while filming himself driving a car through some hills near Tehran. It expands into more general lessons on cinema.
This is of course of more intellectual interest than artistic, but it is reasonable to say that it is well paced and engaging all the same. The ideas give a certain beauty to the static shots when they come at the end.
As for what Mr Kiarostami said, the content is excellent. Without wanting to repeat, the analysis of his hyper-realism, his almost obsession with removing the artifices of cinema, is an interesting viewpoint. It is not entirely clear how he squares this with the necessary artifice he later talks about, and his quotes of Bresson on minimalism (subtract to add), though the two aspects are fascinating. He is an intelligent and very articulate teacher.
Also interesting is his discussions on music, and the acting technique. Occasioanlly it is a little obvious, but as the film moves on he reaches his most interesting points, ending with a wonderful analysis.
His adherence to cheap productions, unobtrusive, and techniques to engage and question the viewer rather than absorb (a slight diversion of Brechtean alienation) is a fascinating technical study. As is his wish for no part of the film, the cinematography, editing, or plot, to stand out from the whole. It explains his insistence on not letting one scene or image stand out, a fascinating and new (to us) thesis. He explains how his realism is a realism of the actor, who holds the pieces together. How each person, not film but person, is the real subject.
He ends with an analysis of the way Hollywood, not only through plot but through the production of 'beautiful images' (and music), 'kills' or 'wipes out' the viewer. This is a difficult note to strike, the opposite pole being the danger of hyper-calaculation, non involvement. What Kiarostami needs to explain (and, in his films, what he actually does) is the middle way, where we do not forget but neither do we coldly analyse. Instead we think, we prject backwards and forwards, not 'recknoning up' logic but with minds.
These are all big and difficult questions, which Kiarostami raises well. His attack on American theory is clear for the viewer to see, and a fascinating viewpoint. A good thoughtful documentary on the art of cinema, and how it can be an art.