A compelling rumination on the history of Iran and Afghanistan, Talking with Rivers is Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s contemplative reflection on and a compilation of the works of the Makhmalbaf family. Over the image of Makhmalbaf, sitting by a river with his back to the camera, a dialogue between two speakers personifying Iran and Afghanistan continues as voiceover. The enduring history of the two countries that started out as brotherly nations and traversed through numerous wars to the Taliban era is imprinted in the mind and heart of this master filmmaker. Mohsen’s sorrowful musings seamlessly connect with and expand to other films made by the members of his family. In the face of Afghanistan’s tragedy today, the power and beauty of films directed by the Makhmalbafs, including Kandahar (2002), The Day I Became a Woman (2003), At Five in the Afternoon (2003), and Two-Legged Horse (2008), are not diluted but grow ever stronger. (KANG Sowon)