Inspired by a poem by Iranian philosopher Sohrab Sepehri, Where Is the Friend's Home? is a sensitive portrait of a child's life in a northern Iranian village. Abbas Kiarostami creates young characters who are sophisticated and aware, constantly developing their sense of moral priorities to which the adults, caught up in the daily routines of village life, are unwitting obstacles. The story centers on young Ahmad and his attempts to return an all-important school notebook to his friend, Mohammad, whose disinterest in his homework has provoked threats of expulsion from the village school. Defying his parents, Ahmad sets out to find his friend's home in the neighboring village. Continually derailed and misguided by conflicting directions from adults, he searches through winding alleys and houses that all look identical, and covers the barren territory between the two villages over and over with a Sisyphean inevitability. Kiarostami draws subtle and convincing performances from his cast of non-professional actors, many of whom, sadly, were killed in the earthquake of 1990.