Certified Copy (2010)

In Italy to promote his latest book, a middle-aged English writer meets a young French woman and jets off to San Gimignano with her. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Abbas Kiarostami
Written By: Abbas Kiarostami, Caroline Eliacheff
Starring: Jean-Claude Carrière, Juliette Binoche, Agathe Natanson, William Shimell, Gianna Giachetti, Adrian Moore, Angelo Barbagallo, Andrea Laurenzi, Filippo Trojano
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Drama
AKA: Copie conforme
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Certified Copy belongs to 62 collections
1. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 171 stars)
2. 21st Century Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by dardan - 50 stars)
3. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (collaborative: moderated by epiphany - 20 stars)
4. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
5. Writers and writing (collaborative: moderated by djross - 11 stars)
6. Skandies (collaborative: moderated by toro913 - 7 stars)
7. Djross philosophical movies (public: djross - 7 stars)
8. TSPDT 21st Century's Top 250 Most Acclaimed Films (2012) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 6 stars)
9. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)
10. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 5 stars)
11. Indiewire's 100 Best Movies of the 2010s (collaborative: moderated by offlineoz - 4 stars)
12. Djross great movies (public: djross - 4 stars)
13. The AV Club Best Films of 2011 (public: TychoCelchuu - 3 stars)
14. Unconventional Cinema (public: holsgr - 3 stars)
15. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)
16. Djross film as art (public: djross - 3 stars)
17. Djross comedy of the year (public: djross - 2 stars)
18. Super Champion Film Zone top 100 of 21st century (public: snallygaster - 2 stars)
19. The AV Club's 100 Best Movies of the 2010s (public: TychoCelchuu - 2 stars)
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22. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
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25. BBC's The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Films (collaborative: moderated by jeff_h - 1 star)
26. Kyles Movie of the Year 1892-2019 (public: Dorkovsky - 1 star)
27. Djross 2010 top ten (public: djross - 1 star)
28. Reza Archive (public: reza899 - 1 star)
29. Cinetheque (public: allegreller - 1 star)
30. Richard Brody's 26 Best Films of 2011 (public: TychoCelchuu - 1 star)
31. A.V. Club's 100 Best Films of the Decade (so far) (public: kevinjoseph - 1 star)
32. The Face of Another (public: trippingly - 1 star)
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35. toucé (public: rnest - 1 star)
36. Metacosmic and sexorganological cinema (public: djross - 1 star)
37. Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA)
38. 2011 US Theatrical (collaborative: moderated by DrBroel)
39. TSPDT Top 150 Most Acclaimed Films of the 21st Century (2017) (collaborative: moderated by arrow-s)
40. Ricardo Bedoya: Favorite films from 2010-2019 (collaborative: moderated by CCLZA)
41. Iranian director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)
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62. Djross top 300 movies (2023 edition) (public: djross)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
5 | theficionado | 100 97th |
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CC first presents the idea that it is not the object itself but the observer's perception of it which produces meaning (duh), then cunningly embodies that idea (audience's interpretations of the actors' relationship swing wildly from scene to scene), and then finally -- in James -- exposes the cold, rational solipsism at the heart of that idea, taken to its extreme. An unbelievably slippery film, with camerawork that at once both subtly and strikingly assists the exploration of its themes.
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KasperL | 70 65th |
Doesn't match the dialogue in Linklater's wonderful, talky dramas. The lines don't - despite great delivery - flow as naturally here, often seeming borderline constructed. The intellectualizing is rather banal and Kiarostami, regrettably, never arrives at a point, satisfied with suggesting that the dichotomy of original and copy is applicable to relationships. Much more observant is the way the protagonists' discussions and backstory (whether real or invented) flesh out believable characters.
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Moribunny | 60 54th |
Intelligent and expertly done, as one might expect from the names involved, but unsuccessful. This is by far the most polemical film Kiarostami has ever made, and yet it isn't a proper filmic essay like, say, "F for Fake". It's a drama. The characters do have psychologies, they're not bidimensional, so authenticity is expected. Unfortunately, from the onset, all interaction between them is so transparently aimed to demonstrate a philosophical point, that its credibility as a drama is lost.
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djross | 86 96th |
Beautiful and captivating, but also with an underlying coldness if not desperation. Perhaps there is no absolutely final explanation, but from what I can tell, very few critics or commentators succeeded in deciphering the key elements of the narrative puzzle, whose tragic solution requires only one little step of lateral thinking (see the link for an explanation). It is fascinating to see what Kiarostami does with his first European feature. Binoche is superb. Rewatched July 6, 2016. [Full Review]
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Ytadel | 1 5th |
Certified Cure for Insomnia. My favorite part is when Juliette Binoche and some old Italian waitress spend six minutes making incredibly trite observations about marriage (Did you know that husbands are stubborn? Well, you do now!) that, accompanied by a laugh track, wouldn't be out of place in Everybody Loves Raymond. But since it's in subtitles with European actors, it's high art. William Shimell's character is a royal douche, one of the most loathsome movie characters of the year.
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INDYATMN | 9 0th |
After spending 40 minutes setting up what could have become a beautifully acted tale of bittersweet courtship, the actors begin 2 behave as if they're another couple entirely. Again& again. W/ every 1 of their banal romantic conversations cut & shaped 2 resemble common generic stock, we're meant 2 wonder who they really r while realizing movies rn't real. Blow me. If tossing sticks of dynamite on2 the suspension of disbelief required 2 enjoy good storytelling makes u feel smart, watch this twice
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Stradivarius | 74 47th |
Interesting shifts in tone and perspective, however, some turns left me feeling like I knew less and less about these characters than I thought I did. After accompanying them on a long journey, neither they nor the audience really seem to have arrived anywhere, but perhaps thats the whole point.
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astrakhan | 74 33rd |
The first 30 minutes were great. Nice characters, good chemistry, interesting philosophical discussions. The twist really threw me off balance, and I suspect it was Kiarostami's intention (other subtle audiovisual techniques are used to disorient). The second half is much weaker. You really have to imagine it as 2 separate films to make any sense out of it, which is in complete conflict with the visuals. Kiarostami's best-looking film, but I'd rather he dispensed with the experimental bullshit.
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M_A | 84 88th |
A sort of existentialist Before Sunset.
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lisa- | 7 92nd |
again kiarostami includes a double-meaning in his title, referring both to the artistic concept of duplication and to the sleight-of-hand pulled halfway through the film. a really, really interesting film essay, and quite emotionally involving too.
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AFlickering | 6 86th |
"[Marriage] is an odd kind of storytelling that requires the authors to play many different parts (read: copies), the sense of the text emerging when these roles interact over time. But it may be the most complicated, enriching form of storytelling there is." - m. leary
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Suture Self | 8 81st |
I could have paid better attention to this movie, but Kiarostami doesn't make it easy, and the shift in the middle is at first a clumsy and duplicitous device that isn't entirely successful. The film works less as a narrative and more as an essay on representation and the non-existence of "the thing in and of itself". Yeah, it's stuffy. Even then, I could cull many truths out of the characters' conversation, and Binoche once again demonstrates that she's a badass actress.
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Icarus | 99 99th |
A magnificent achievement from Kiarostami both in writing and direction, as well as a stand out performance from Binoche, who is more compelling than ever. The camera's gaze slowly humanizes these people, as they grow at once both more concrete and more mysterious. So many moments are beautifully rendered, from the shot beneath the opening credits to them driving through the city in the car to the close-up on Binoche as she gazes into the mirror. Each successive moment reveals and conceals.
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chemical404 | 82 96th |
Certified Copy is an intelligent, artistic and fun movie (not very common combination, if you ask me). I can't even start describing how awesome acting of Binoche is, but that's hardly news. This movie gave me some kind of abstract hope.
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borgeest | 88 92nd |
Transporting. There is a structural whimsey which is beautiful, overlaid upon two central performances which are astoundingly good. Binoche steals the show in a career-topping performance, but Shimell is no cipher; his anger-within-intimacy most compelling.
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moraesfelipe | 85 92nd |
Through long shots, Kiarostami depicts what could be some sort of middle-age and experimental Before Sunrise, with arresting genre shifts. It goes from a romantic comedy to a serious drama, what might exasperate most of western spectators.
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1 | Coheed | 80 78th |
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There was a danger of this becoming pretentious and too self-referential, but thankfully Kiarostami avoids this in favour of a perfectly pace mix of meta-film, absurdist comedy and emotional drama.
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krf7 | 80 63rd |
A strange movie that will simultaneously confuse and entertain you. Binoche is stunning in this film.
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Valenzetti | 81 62nd |
Reflexivity with heart; it reminds me that I need to read more Nabokov, if only because it could have used more of his disarming humor. Really wish Shimell had been up to par for this, but Binoche is a plus.
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Rufam | 65 42nd |
"Copie conforme" is interesting, weird and thought-provoking -like an intellectualized version of "Before Sunrise". Although the dialogue isn't as engaging here and the leads not as appealing, this remains constantly intriguing, maybe because Binoche and Shimell work miracles with average material or maybe because the games Kiarostami plays with us are as manipulative as they are effective. The film may be pretentious and it doesn't pay off, but it remains compelling and original throughout.
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ostroglyadov | 90 44th |
Good. Scenario, Directing, Acting, Camerawork. We r all same and interchangeable.
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SheWas | 31 32nd |
Mumblecore for your scholar parents
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rant1229 | 4 69th |
Kiarostami has been investigating the line between the real and the recreated for most of his career, so this film about a couple of strangers playing at being spouses, or a couple of spouses playing at being strangers (and what would it matter either way?) is brilliantly up his ally, but only for a few moments where it feels like it might turn into another bickering couple drama, but recovers quickly, and Binoche gives possibly the best performance of her career.
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eCitizen | 30 18th |
Juliette Binoche is beautiful, but this movie is a complete mess! It starts off good with two strangers meeting & having an intellectual conversation, but in the course of one day they end up an old estranged married couple. The plot & dialog is absurd, confusing & stupid. WIlliam Shimell sleep walks through his role. As much as I loved Juliette Binoche I disliked the plot & script. I can see what they were going for, but the writer/director failed since the plot was so pitiful.
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Average Percentile 63.85% from 1451 Ratings | ![]() |