Set in the mountain village of Koker in northern Iran, WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE? is a tale of two boys and a problem. Eight-year-old Ahmad discovers that he has accidentally taken home the notebook of his friend, who risks expulsion if he comes to school without having done his homework. Refining a model of the narrative quest that resonates through Iranian cinema to this day, Kiarostami follows the boy in a frantic trek through a neighboring village in search of his friend’s home. In Ahmad’s small world, narrowly defined by his harried mother, his rigidly authoritarian teacher, and adult villagers dismissive of a child’s dilemma, the little boy becomes the film’s moral center as he earnestly pursues his mission undeterred. In Persian with English subtitles. New DCP digital restoration. (BS)