Gabbeh is a 1996 film from Iran, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
An old married couple is washing a Persian rug—a "gabbeh
"—in a stream. The rug is embroidered with a picture of a man sweeping up a woman onto a horse. As the married couple dries the rug on the rocks by the stream, a young woman suddenly materializes on the rug. The young woman, who calls herself "Gabbeh", tells the old couple a story.
Gabbeh had a young man, a lover, who wanted to take her away and marry her. But her father refuses to let her marry, until her uncle Abbas finds a bride. The problem is that her uncle Abbas is 57 years old and a lifelong bachelor. Gabbeh's father refuses to let her marry until her uncle marries. But even after her uncle finds a bride, her father puts more obstacles in her way.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Uncle Abbas names his mother and Gabbeh's grandmother by arriving at the camp and saying "Where's my mother? Where's Narendj?"
- Circling Vultures: Abbas says "Life is color!", and there's a sequence of the various dyes that the family uses to dye wool. Then he says "Death is—", and there's a cut to black, before a shot of a single vulture, circling in the sky. This introduces the sequence in which Gabbeh's little sister falls off a mountain pass and dies.
- The Faceless: Gabbeh's lover is only ever seen from a distance, on horseback, calling to Gabbeh by imitating the call of a wolf. Even at the end, where he comes galloping in to take Gabbeh away, the scene is shot from a distance, and all we can see is that Gabbeh's lover is young and has a beard.
- Foreshadowing: The old husband washing the "gabbeh" rug by the stream falls in love with Gabbeh. As his own wife stalks off in a snit, the old man professes his love for Gabbeh, saying "You don't love me!" and making the same wolf call that the young lover did. The ending reveals that the old husband and wife are in fact Gabbeh and her lover, decades in the future.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Uncle Abbas has a dream in which he will meet his true love by a spring. He goes to a spring, where he meets a young woman. After talking a bit, he asks the young woman to marry him. After he recites a poem, the young woman agrees.
- The Ghost: Gabbeh's father is much discussed, as he keeps putting roadblocks in the way of Gabbeh's marriage, but he is never seen.
- Match Cut: A shot of a mother goat pawing the ground after delivering a baby, is followed by a shot of the women in the family combing a loom as they weave rugs.
- Meadow Run: Gabbeh is in the wheat fields. Her lover comes galloping towards her on a horse. Gabbeh goes running through the wheat fields, towards her lover—but two other women pop up from among the wheat, relatives. Gabbeh has to go back without meeting her lover.
- No Name Given: Abbas's young bride never gives her name. When he asks her, she only identifies herself as "Aladad's daughter."
- Repeat Cut: After shooting Gabbeh and her young lover, the man on horseback with the rifle flings down the "gabbeh" rug with the picture of Gabbeh's lover swooping her up onto a horse. The shot of the rug landing on the ground and unrolling is repeated several times.
- The Reveal: The ending of the movie reveals that the old man's wife is Gabbeh. And the old man is the young lover who took Gabbeh away from her family, decades ago.
- Tastes Like Purple: A variation. Uncle Abbas seems to have an ability to grasp and summon color. Abbas points to the red poppies that the family uses for red dye, stretches out his hand—and when he withdraws his hand it's dyed red. Abbas points to the wheat fields that his family uses for yellow die, stretches out his hand—and when he withdraws his hand it's dyed yellow.
- Title Drop: A "gabbeh" is a handwoven Persian rug.
