BFI Top 50: Close-Up, Released in 1990, Directed by Abbas Kiarostami

What I know going in

I have a vague idea that the film is about an Iranian man who pretends to be a film director and control another family. This will be the first Iranian new wave film I have seen. Recently, I watched the director’s, Abbas Kiarostami, film Certified Copy, which I found very intriguing. I am interested in seeing one of the director’s earlier films.

Immediate Reaction

To be honest, this write-up is about a week late. I actually left Close-Up feeling a bit underwhelmed and I could not find an angle to start the discussing the film. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t quite hit me emotionally. I found hard to get engaged with the film, because the majority of it is taken up by the court trial of HossainSabzian. He is being tried for fraud for pretending to be the Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. During the trial, the camera remains almost completely still, focusing only Sabzian’s face and moving only when the older brother of the family he deceived or the judge begins talking. While in theory, a movie composed mainly of the close-up of one man sounds interesting, I can imagine viewing the emotional arc solely by the small changes in a man’s face would be quite riveting. However, the scenes in the courtroom appeared to be in standard definition or were out of focus, or my copy of the film was messed up. Therefore, I found hard to read Sabzian’s face. Maybe this is point? Maybe we aren’t really meant to get a true “close-up” on Sabzian. Perhaps he is supposed to remain an enigma and maybe this is a commentary on the blending of fiction and reality that happens when viewing any film. That’s my best guess.

From a more academic standpoint, mulling over the film, I realized that I did find Sabzian’s plight quite affecting. I’m sure most of the people who end up seeking out this film are as passionate about cinema as our main subject. Who among us has never dreamed of meeting a famous director, nevertheless actually becoming one? That is why when Sabzian begins to pass himself off as Makhmalbaf, some might call him crazy, but I see a man who will never have the chance to truly express his love for film, and, who, in complete desperation, latches on to the trust of a family and for a brief moment gets to live his dream. That is truly a deeply human, tragic, and inspiring story. Unfortunately, I felt all of this retroactively.

In addition, I have no idea what is reality and what is fiction in this movie. I can’t find the original article online, so maybe the whole story was made up? Maybe it’s all real? The way the film is structured, the scenes in the courtroom and at the prison are definitely presented as reality. There is clear difference to the scenes of the family’s house, which have been reenacted. However, it is possible that courtroom scenes were staged as well. This confusion and inability on my part to separate fact from fiction is definitely intentional, as it mirrors Sabzian’s passion for cinema and his eventual steps toward crossing the line from cinema as fiction to cinema as reality.

Ultimately, I will probably need to watch the film again. I felt the same way about Kiarostami’s Certified Copy, but I have been itching to view again to dissect it some more.

Further Thoughts

The more I read about the film the more confused I get. Apparently, I was right to distrust the courtroom scenes. I had a feeling that dialogue felt a little bit too eloquent. It turns out that Kiarostami basically wrote a script for Sabzian to go off of during the trial. The director claims it was based on actual discussions he had Sabzian, but it adds yet another wrinkle to this reality-bending movie. In addition, the tearful apology by Sabzian to the family he toyed with, was all staged. The family felt that Sabzian had gotten off easy at the trial and wanted nothing to do with him afterward. This does add a kind of insane meta-layer to the whole affair. Sabzian becomes obsessed with fiction to the point where he tries to change his own life, and those of an unassuming family, by becoming a director. Kiarostami, an established director, tries to massage reality into following a typical film narrative by “directing” Sabzian during the courtroom scenes. Sabzian’s and Kiarostami’s actions complement each other by following opposite paths.

Why is this film on the list?

Even though I did not get much of a visceral, emotional reaction from the film, I found it fascinating to think and read about. It has taken me around two weeks to write up this little review, a testament to the layered nature of the film. I would be highly surprised if I see another film that so thoroughly blurs the line between fiction and actual reality.