Close-Up

I can easily say that Close-Up is one of the most unique and extremely well made films I've ever seen. It didn't hit me as hard as it hit alot of other people, but I can definitely see how well this film was made. Its such an interesting premise. The non-professional actors did an extremely professional job. I was truly touched by the performance of Hossain Sabzian, he really shows us both in words, and just by looking at his face, how strongly cinema impacts those who thrive off it. Excellent.

An incredibly novel premise: a semi-documentary, including reenactments by all the people involved, of the story of a man who impersonates director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. It's funny and touching and thoroughly engaging. It touches on identity, class, and cinema. When the microphone starts to cut out at the end, I wondered if it was Kiarostami's way of telling us that he, too, was only pretending at being a director, and the facade was breaking down.

An unusual and compelling film that will really make you scratch your head. One of the main points of interest here is the production itself. Some scenes in the film consist of real, live footage of the actual events that took place; other scenes are dramatizations, but featuring the actual people involved, "playing" themselves! The centerpiece of the movie is the personality of the impostor Sabzian himself and the way he rationalizes his actions.

an utterly fascinating film that has many layers, even in its title, which can refer both to the lens of the camera and to the detailed look at the psyche of a particular type of person. it is interesting that sabzian, having nominally taken over the personality of makhmalbaf, actually develops his own filmic perspective as a director, with his adopted namesake simply a cover. most cinema lovers and wannabe auteurs should see at least a little bit of themselves in this film.

I could never have predicted that this concept, which looks potentially smart-alecky on paper, would be so fruitful. It's a touching and fascinating film, one of the most interesting and thought-provoking movies I've seen about cinema itself. Kiarostami devises the reconstruction with great intelligence and sensitivity. It's so ironic how Sabzian, the perpetrator of the fraud, is himself such a naive and suggestible fellow.