Synopsis
A man, his dog, a young woman and a filmmaker in a house by the Caspian Sea. All three are wanted, but they are also in search of each other. Thus begins an absurd game in which reality and fiction merge.
2013 ‘پرده’ Directed by Kambuzia Partovi, Jafar Panahi
A man, his dog, a young woman and a filmmaker in a house by the Caspian Sea. All three are wanted, but they are also in search of each other. Thus begins an absurd game in which reality and fiction merge.
Pardé, Pardeh, Спусната завеса, Κλειστή κουρτίνα, Le Rideau fermé, 닫힌 커튼, Cortinas Fechadas, Закрытый занавес, Perde, 闭幕
Stop comparing this to Charlie Kaufman. Iranian cinema was doing self-reflexive before Kaufman did his 1st book report dressed in costume as the book he was reporting on. Besides, Kaufman's nebbish neuroses are worlds removed from the very real forces constricting Panahi. And yet, Panahi's film is the more expansive, even as it is very much the id-driven, emotional flip-side to THIS IS NOT A FILM's logical questions about how to practice his art when his art has been denied him. Allegorical narratives collapse into surreal, metacinematic muse pursuit, the shift occurring in an unvarnished long shot peering into a mirror like some black box rendition of Kieslowski. If TINAF's experimentalism and daring not only showed its maker unbowed by…
What sorcery is this ? How is a film that is completely made in a home so engaging and thoughtful. Will revisit someday later to understand more nuances.
This Is Not A Film showed a defiant, if not somewhat mischievous, Jafar Panahi, expanding on the restrictions placed upon him by his own Government. The fire has not been quelled since then although his new film shows a far more melancholic, existential atmosphere. It offers a man in despair, suffering from the limitations placed on the freedom to express himself as he once did.
Narratively this is a hard film to confine into even a few concepts. Actor and co-director for the film, Kambuzia Partovi, is a writer, hidden away in a seaside villa with only his dog for company. Thick black curtains block out the daylight so he can hide the fact he has the pet staying with…
60/100
Intriguingly allegorical first half falls prey to one of Panahi's patented reflexive mid-film switcheroos, which (I'm sorry to say) primarily makes the second half seem kinda whiny. Granted, Panahi has justifiable cause to whine, but I was more into this before he showed up in the flesh and turned it into a full-bore Morality Play, with characters who might as well be called Creativity and Suicide. Please release the man so he can make films about something more compelling than his inability to make films. But keep the dog.
I always keep my curtains closed. These blackout drapes are great for watching movies at any hour.
Another impressive delivery from Panahi that works on comparable levels to Synecdoche New York. Watching his work now requires a metatextual adherence to his situation and current state of affairs to get the full benefit. It would also seem that the confinement of his prison sentence has enabled a different kind of cinema to flourish, not that is far removed from the bold statements that were his earlier work, but now the allegory and symbolism has become something less subtle and more of an exercise of overt rebellion - heck why choose subtlety when the risks he is taking can be rammed right up the arses of those who deal in injustice. A film I am still decoding and would require further viewings to write about in detail because everything is saying so much!
Weird, we thought this was Bulgarian. Since we're in Bulgaria. I guess we weren't paying that much attention.
It was really weird. The dog is adorable.
Maybe it would have made more sense if we could understand it. There were no subtitles.
144 YEARS OF CINEMA
Nr. / Year: 2013
Added to: Jafar Panahi Ranked & Iranian Cinema Ranked
Closed Curtain is probably Panahi's most cryptic and confusing film, yet simultaneously also one of his strongest statements.
The film starts with a man and his dog arriving in a big house by the Caspian Sea. They hide out there, behind blacked out windows and all, for the Islamic rules against owning a dog as they are considered impure. During a stormy night a brother and sister arrive at the house, running from the police for consuming alcohol. While the sister stays and cleans herself up, the brother goes looking for a car, never to return. After the sister hangs around for a while…
Jafar Panahi keeps on making films even though the Iranian government has banned him and put him under house arrest. This here is the 2nd one he makes unlawfully and the 3rd one is coming soon (called Taxi).
The first film was called This is Not a Film and was a hard criticism on the Iranian government disguised as a video diary. Closed Curtain is more focused on the nature of film as art even though the same criticism is to be found there.
I'm not going to talk abut the plot since it can spoil the film. Let's just say that it is about a man who is hiding inside a house and he gets visitors who are also…