Close-Up
1991 ‘Nema-ye Nazdik’ Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Synopsis
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.
Cast
Genres
Popular reviews
More-
"Yo dawg, I heard you like films, so I put a film in your film so you can contemplate the ontological status of cinema while you contemplate the ontological status of cinema" - Xzibbas Kiarostami
-
The greatest film about human identity and the power of escapism I have ever seen. Abbas Kiarostami takes the real-life trial of a man who impersonated fellow Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and recreates it with unsettling authenticity. But here's the kick: all the people who were involved in the incident appear as themselves in the film, adding to the already engrossing realism of what is portrayed. The narrative is structured in a way that instantly creates an enticing mystery, opening with two police officers summoned by a small-time journalist looking for his big break taking Hossain Sabzian, the man impersonating Makhmalbaf, into custody. The reporter tells the officers that the man they are searching for is suspected of impersonating the…
-
It's a special thing, this film. It's probably the most artistically experimental movie Abbas Kiarostami has ever made (at least until Certified Copy), a not-quite-documentary where the line between fiction and nonfiction becomes increasingly blurred. Going into it, I was prepared for Close-Up to be formally inventive but a bit antiseptic (which is a criticism that I've sometimes lobbed at other Kiorostami films, to be honest). I feared that its big ideas on art vs. reality would consume its relatively meager story of a poor young man who insinuates himself into the lives of a middle-class family by pretending to be famed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. But much to my surprise, I found this film to be the most exhilarating…
-
Part of my 100 Movies, 100 Years Project, Year 1991
I'm not really sure what to think about this. A man pretends to be his favorite filmmaker and then gets found out. And the whole thing is played like a documentary but it's not a documentary, but all the people involved in the true story play themselves. The most impressive thing, to me, is how natural the "performances" felt. One of the hardest things to do is act like yourself when put in the spotlight, and the "actors" do a fantastic job at playing themselves. At least I think they do. I have no idea how these people are in real life. They might all be rodeo clowns, who knows.…
-
Film #16 - 30 Movies, 30 Countries Challenge - Iran
In the end, everyone in Close-up has a role to play : the accused, but also the plaintiffs, the judge... even Makhmalbaf turns out to be an actor, not a director. Each one plays to be someone else, sometimes with more happiness, sometimes with more suffering (didn't Sabzian ask to Kiarostami to show his suffering?). Kiarostami even plays with genres mixing documentary (the trial) and fiction (such as the reconstitutions of the scenes) at the same time and making even the position, the function of the image quite uncertain.
-
A film that bluntly bares the soul of a man, showing how fiction can document the truth of human suffering.
Recent reviews
More-
personally i find kiarostami's works to be very hit or miss in terms of what i look for in a movie. i probably just don't get it BUT there are some great things, and even better things that happen if you take this with context
-
Film 16 of Kyle's Travel through 30 Countries in 30 Days
Country: Iran
-
Film #16 - 30 Movies, 30 Countries Challenge - Iran
In the end, everyone in Close-up has a role to play : the accused, but also the plaintiffs, the judge... even Makhmalbaf turns out to be an actor, not a director. Each one plays to be someone else, sometimes with more happiness, sometimes with more suffering (didn't Sabzian ask to Kiarostami to show his suffering?). Kiarostami even plays with genres mixing documentary (the trial) and fiction (such as the reconstitutions of the scenes) at the same time and making even the position, the function of the image quite uncertain.
-
More fascinating to me than entertaining, Abbas Kiarostami's Close-Up finds a real life trial re-enacted by the actual players, adding several layers to the proceedings considering that the trial revolves around one man acting as an imposter for artistic reasons. It plays as part fiction, part documentary, in a way that may be influencing current films that are touted entirely as documentaries.
Like the other films I have seen with this director, he takes all the time he needs and will allow the film to be distracted with details and conversations that aren't all that necessary to the plot in order to build some authenticity. But it comes with a price to the overall entertainment value of the final product.…
-
A tedious film, but one that is equally thought-provoking, engaging, humorous, a film of admirable quality.
-
Brilliantly shot and reworked, superb character study. Excellent mix of documentary and feature. Haven't seen a film like this before.
-
funny and sad and cute when the real life mohsen makhmalbaf helps mend fences
-
I don't even possess the critical language necessary to write a review of this amazing film. A brilliant combination of fiction and documentary (but which part is which?), Close-Up is the story of a poor Iranian man who masqueraded as the film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf in order to ingratiate himself with a middle-class family in Tehran. Except it's a true story, and all the parts in the film are played by the actual people involved in the case. A deeply moving meditation on identity, performance, and film making, Close-Up really is a piece of art.
-
Part of my 100 Movies, 100 Years Project, Year 1991
I'm not really sure what to think about this. A man pretends to be his favorite filmmaker and then gets found out. And the whole thing is played like a documentary but it's not a documentary, but all the people involved in the true story play themselves. The most impressive thing, to me, is how natural the "performances" felt. One of the hardest things to do is act like yourself when put in the spotlight, and the "actors" do a fantastic job at playing themselves. At least I think they do. I have no idea how these people are in real life. They might all be rodeo clowns, who knows.…