In a drought-stricken southern region of the country, a small boy sets out in search of his missing parents. To escape famine the inhabitants are emigrating from the area, and when the boy despairs of finding his family, he joins one of the departing groups. Amir Naderi followed The Runner up with another critical success, Water, Wind, Dust (1989) Set amid the parched expanses of eastern Iran, Water, Wind, Dust contains plenty of the latter two natural elements and none of the first – that is, until the explosive final scene. In form, Water, Wind, Dust is a tone poem that boasts dirty, callused hands. There is no story and little conventional character development to speak of; there′s just desert and more desert The final scene provides a welcome geyser of relief, but as critics have pointed out, it may only be a hallucination. The exquisite agony continues.