Close-up (1990)

86% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
84% of users liked it
(3,075 ratings)

This Iranian film qualifies as a docudrama, and makes some telling comments on society as it tells its tale. In the story, Ali Sabzian, in a fit of whimsey, claims to a fellow passenger on the bus that he is the famous Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. So far, so good, but he then becomes… More This Iranian film qualifies as a docudrama, and makes some telling comments on society as it tells its tale. In the story, Ali Sabzian, in a fit of whimsey, claims to a fellow passenger on the bus that he is the famous Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. So far, so good, but he then becomes involved with his fellow passenger and her family, claiming that he has cast the family's son in a major role and that the setting he intends to use is their home. At some point this tale comes unravelled, and the family takes him to court. A well-meaning judge persuades the family to drop the charges against this unemployed man. Ironically, while Ali is on trial, the maker of this current film (Abbas Kiarostami) decides to film the procedings, and also stages a reconstruction of the events leading up to the trial, using all the actual participants, but has the restaged trial end less happily. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 31, 1999 Limited
On DVD: Feb 19, 2002
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

Critic Reviews

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News
Successfully blends fact with fiction to produce a work more compelling than any of today's infotainment programs.
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Kiarostami's film has artichoke-like layers which, once peeled, are forever resonant.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Kiarostami has made a film that looks into the heart of a man accused of a crime and, instead of evil, discovers only sweetness, longing and a sad confusion.
Chris Barsanti, PopMatters
...not quite close enough.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
Kiarostamis blending of fiction and nonfiction techniques produces a film that can be peeled back layer by layer, revealing something new at each level.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Kiarostami's rapturous chimera of a film finally gets its deserved due on DVD and Blu-ray.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
The meanings of Close-Up shift, subtly and profoundly, with every viewing; the only certainty is that its rewards are boundless.
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
... a brilliant mix of contrivance, intimacy, distance, and dramatic closure peered into like a voyeur...
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Compelling and utterly fascinating, but be warned: This is a rough-edged film that constantly shoves the viewer's face into the fact that it is a film.
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
That it remains difficult to classify Kiarostami solely as either a great director or a great journalist at the film's end only enhances the film's power.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
I'd recommend watching this movie in the morning, after drinking a couple of cups of coffee.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Close Up is still the definitive film-on-film commentary.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The more one thinks about Close-Up, the richer it gets.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Abbas Kiarostami's brilliantly perceptive film is based on a true story, but is done in mock-documentary style.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Drew S

I think my cool reaction to Close-Up is an issue of cultural division. Where many Iranian viewers find considerable merit in this, I thought it was interesting, but staid and ugly and painfully dull. I prefer Certified Copy, which explores many of the same themes in much more vibrant… More
I think my cool reaction to Close-Up is an issue of cultural division. Where many Iranian viewers find considerable merit in this, I thought it was interesting, but staid and ugly and painfully dull. I prefer Certified Copy, which explores many of the same themes in much more vibrant ways, in every respect.
Hassan V

This is a complex masterpiece. It is so simple on the surface but Kiarostami blends documentary and the fictional world of cinema to create a film with real emotions, real events and real people. It is the true story of an unemployed man that adores cinema pretending to be famed… More
This is a complex masterpiece. It is so simple on the surface but Kiarostami blends documentary and the fictional world of cinema to create a film with real emotions, real events and real people. It is the true story of an unemployed man that adores cinema pretending to be famed Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to a family and promising them a chance to be in his film with their house as a set. Kiarostami films the trial of this man, which is real. But also films the mans arrest and release within a cinema context; using the real people as characters playing themselves. It is fantastic, original and tragic. Maybe I found it sad because I saw myself in the man, and probably would do what he did too if I ever am unemployed, divorced and still living with my parents at 40. The more you adore film the more you would adore this one.
Chris B

While I understand the point as well as the various messages in the film, it takes a lot of patience and focus because it is a full dialogue film with nothing else except the changing of locations. While diversity may have prevented me from grasping it to the fullest, I feel like it… More
While I understand the point as well as the various messages in the film, it takes a lot of patience and focus because it is a full dialogue film with nothing else except the changing of locations. While diversity may have prevented me from grasping it to the fullest, I feel like it could have been done with more vigor. A deeply personal and meaningful film that is a good watch if you have the patience for it.

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Close-up (1990)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Drew S

Hassan V

Chris B

Cast

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