Underplayed Gems

Close-Up (1990)

Close-Up poster
Original title
کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک
Directed by
Abbas Kiarostami
Genre
docufiction, trial film
Country
Iran, France
Runtime
1h 38m
Rated
NR
Rating
8.0 of 10 from 452 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

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How it feels

A man named Hossein Sabzian poses as a famous filmmaker to trick a family into thinking they will be in his movie. The film shows the real trial and reenactments of the events with the actual people involved.

reflectivemeditativemetafictionalintimateslow-pacedcerebralpoignantcontemplative

What happens

Close-Up (Persian: کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک, Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk) is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed and edited by Abbas Kiarostami. The film tells the story of Hossein Sabzian, a man who impersonated film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and conned a family into believing they would star in his new film. The director received permission to film the historic trial; with their agreement, he featured the people involved in re-enacting certain events that had preceded that. All "play" themselves. Through this work about human identity, Kiarostami gained wider international recognition. Close-Up is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time; in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, it was voted by critics as one of "The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time". In the 2022 Sight and Sound critics' poll, it was rated the 17th greatest film of all time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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