Close-Up

"Close-Up" is an Iranian film written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami. It tells the true story of Hossain Sabzian and his unusual crime: fraud and attempted fraud.

"Close-Up" is an extremely hard film to categorise, and that is a great thing in this case, Kiarostami merges the documentary style with drama by being able to shoot the raw and real footage of this compelling tale, while also convincing its participants to re-enact the earlier events of the story. So if you're looking for an original and unconventional film, this would be a fantastic choice.

I purposely described the movie as vaguely as possible, and that's because I went into it without knowing the background of the story, and whether it was real or fiction, and I was pleasantly surprised by how internally complex yet interesting it was.

To me, the film is mainly about art, specifically cinema, and how it is used as an effective technique to convey to the audience the experiences cultivated by the artist, and its ability to depict relatable and personal situations that emotionally move and stick with the viewer. Cinema is life changing, not only for our main character, but for us as well, therefore, this is without a doubt an important piece in the history of films, that shouldn't be missed.

The film is also largely about the wide differences between social classes, the former is not only presented in a spelled out manner but subtly as well. The struggles of the poor and their sufferings are heavily touched on without guilt-tripping the audience. We are given a close-up of a poor man's upbringing which partially defines him and is an essential reason why he is the way he is.

In "Close-Up", Abbas Kiarostami not only plays an important role in the story, but also behind the scenes, he smartly tends to deflect our attention by not revealing which point of view is being privileged during certain parts, he also loves to fool around with our expectations which I find to be amusing.

My only problem with the film lays during its last sequence, which is also quite the emotional scene, although, it isn't clear if the director expects the viewer to see it as "raw" and "real" footage or re-enactment, he goes out of his way to make it seem as genuine as possible, while it also being evident that it is staged.

The movie's dialogue is its action, and the compelling characters tremendously help at making it hard-hitting and personnel, furthermore, there is a fantastic scene starring and aerosol can, so go check it out. This is a Full Price.