... a brilliant mix of contrivance, intimacy, distance, and dramatic closure...
Close-Up (1990)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:10
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.2/10
Synopsis: With his use of non-actors and his loose use of documentary rules, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's (TASTE OF CHERRY) films can often be characterized by asking whether what the viewer is seeing... With his use of non-actors and his loose use of documentary rules, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's (TASTE OF CHERRY) films can often be characterized by asking whether what the viewer is seeing is reality or fiction. The film which perhaps most exemplifies this is CLOSE-UP, ostensibly a documentary about an impostor of another Iranian director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf (GABBEH; ONCE UPON A TIME, CINEMA). Kiarostami tells the story by asking questions from off-screen to those involved in the legal case, then having the participants play themselves in a re-enactment of the events which actually occurred. A masterwork, considered by many to be Kiarostami's best. [More]
Starring: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Hossein Sabzian
Starring: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Hossein Sabzian
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Reviews for Close-Up
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.
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.
Successfully blends fact with fiction to produce a work more compelling than any of today's infotainment programs.
Kiarostami's film has artichoke-like layers which, once peeled, are forever resonant.
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.
Abbas Kiarostami's brilliantly perceptive film is based on a true story, but is done in mock-documentary style.
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