THE REEL LESS TRAVELED

The UCLA Film and Television Archive’s 18th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema, running over eight nights between Friday and April 20, is nothing if not eclectic.

The opening film, “Persian Carpet (Farsh-E Irani),” is an anthology of contributions from 15 directors, including the legendary Abbas Kiarostami, each interpreting the titular subject via a unique aesthetic.

Also of note is the forceful war drama “Night Bus (Otobous-E Shahbaneh)” (Sunday), written and directed by Kiumars Pourahmad. Shot in a distinctive black and white, the film has a sharp, timeless look that echoes the universality of its antiwar sentiment. The film follows the journey of an elderly bus driver, a young soldier and a Iranian Kurd who form a makeshift escort for prisoners during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. Dodging mortars and mines, the men bicker about the assignment’s futility, as the common ground they share with the POWs overshadows the divide between the two nations.

And for those seeking something a little more titillating and a definite departure from traditional Iranian drama, Mahnaz Afzali’s documentary “Red Card (Carte Ghermez)” (April 5) chronicles the tabloid frenzy generated by the 2002 trial of a woman accused of killing her soccer-star lover’s wife.

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-- Kevin.Crust@latimes.com