Okay, I feel like a cultural cretin, but my husband and I rented this movie a few years ago because it was so highly praised, and we found it... boring. Nothing much happened, and the ending was abrupt and pointless. (I know, I've read reviews and I realize the abandoned Afghan boy was significant, but we didn't get it.)
Can anyone recommend a Kierostami film that might be more accessible to Westerners? Or are they all this subtle?
it's not really a matter of being a westerner. It's simply kiarostamis minimalistic/neorealist and naturalistic style. Iranians that don't like that style find it as boring as do the westerners that don't like that style. The Taste of Cherry deals with themes that are a bit more universal and philosophical, Ten is a very dialogue-heavy film involving ten conversations between a women driving a car and her various passengers in a 24 hour period. Close-up is an early Kiarostami film that plays on the themes of personal identity, acting vs being natural, fiction vs reality. All kiarostami's film have a certain style, and his overall philosophy is one of underdetermining his films in order to make his audience actively participate in the construction of the films meaning, but these are some films that (in my opinion anyway) deal with more universal themes or at least make those themes a little more obvious.
You may also want to check out something by Majid Majidi, as his films are a bit more accessible than Kiarostami's (Color of paradise, Children of heaven, Baran).