Critics claim that Kiarostami is a humanist or a realist in the ordinary sense, that he was indifferent to the plight of women, or turned his back on his own culture and countrymen by making films for export to satisfy a touristic gaze. They also argue that he failed to acknowledge, let alone confront, the stifling political circumstances that were choking the country, or take Iran’s leaders and policies to task, as other filmmakers did. That these criticisms are unfounded can only be refuted through rigorous readings of the films themselves.
Source: Abbas Kiarostami’s Cinema of Subtraction | The MIT Press Reader