24 Frames

24 Frames is Abbas Kiarostami's final film; when he died in July 2016, it was nearly complete, and his son Ahmad Kiarostami along with visual effects supervisor Ali Kamali finished the remaining work from the director's own notes. The film had its posthumous world premiere on May 23, 2017, as part of the 70th anniversary events at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. Structurally, it consists of 24 separate frames, each roughly four and a half minutes long; the opening frame is a digitally animated version of Pieter Bruegel's painting Hunters in the Snow, with smoke rising from a chimney, a dog sniffing the snow, and birds flying through the trees, while the remaining 23 frames are based on Kiarostami's own photographs. The film was very well received critically, holding a 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 77 on Metacritic. Who it's for: anyone curious about a posthumously completed final film built from 24 static frames, opening with an animated recreation of a painting. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a conventional plot, since the film is nearly wordless and built from fixed camera shots.