GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Christopher Culver Abbas Kiarostami's last few films were made outside his native Iran, and his 2010 effort CERTIFIED COPY is set in the colourful towns and countryside of Tuscany. Its two main characters have arrived in Italy from elsewhere: a Frenchwoman (never named, and played by Juliette Binoche) has lived in Arezzo for several years now, running an antique shop, while James (William Shimell) is an Englishman invited to lecture on an art history book that he has written.As the film opens, James is in fact giving that lecture, speaking of how a high-quality copy of a work of art may said to be better than the original. He soon meets the French antiques dealer, and the two spend an afternoon touring the nooks and crannies of Tuscany. With the Frenchwoman's awkwardness and Jame's suave, confident air, Kiarostami is clearly riffing on the romantic comedies of the last two decades. But then the film takes a magical-realist turn: the two begin speaking as if they have been married for many years already. The apparent relationship between the two continues to evolve and morph over the course of the film's 106 minutes (and what seems to be for them just a Sunday afternoon spent together) as Kiarostami broods on the nature of marriage as the years go by: people change over time, a husband and wife will eventually be rather copies of their youthful selves, but will they be copies better than the originals, or a sad mockery of their youthful idealism? For anyone who has been married (people who haven't may not get much of the film), CERTIFIED COPY is a moving evocation of the rigours of staying together with another person, and the shadowy undercurrents of even apparently happy unions. However, I was ultimately left with mixed feelings. Starting this film with a highly didactic lecture was, in my opinion, a bad choice: no audience wants to feel lectured to right off the bat. Then, the script is a bit too conversation-driven, becoming in parts a logorrhea that will overwhelm even viewers who can understand its trilingual French-Italian-English dialogue (it's probably horrible for those who rely on subtitles). Kiarostami could have trimmed the dialogue without sacrificing any part of his message.Before making this film, Shimell had been known only as an opera singer on the stages of Europe. He manages to make the leap to film actor quite well, with all the subtlety that his role requires -- indeed, I know someone quite like James in both background and personality, and Shimell's depiction bore a resemblance so close it was chilling. Juliette Binochedeftly manages to change her mood and bearing instantly to signal another shift in the film's intrigue. In spite of the European setting, much of Kiarostami's personal technique remains (as well as general aspects of the Iranian New Wave like only the voices of minor roles heard, with the characters themselves not shown on screen).

Don Palathara This is actually a totally different approach to cinema. Is it original? We wouldn't know, but it is definitely great. There are various ways of approaching this film. There is a lot of philosophical questions being raised and answered partially or fully through out the film. One way I like to look at this film is as two journeys with no definite separating point. Somewhere at the middle of the film, the relationship between the two characters change so we get to look at the things in life (art) in a different way. In the first half, you see a happy male who is satisfied with his being while in the second half, he is someone who has been married for 15 years, and unsatisfied with his state of being. The lady is more satisfied in the second half despite being emotional and vulnerable. There is a serious philosophical discussion about what is the right way to approach things. In the first half, the independent man doesn't care about the consequences of actions in general. He thinks things are just the way they are and we should not try too hard to change it. In the second half, he starts acting exactly opposite to his own earlier philosophy as the lady takes control in a socially acceptable relationship. It was interesting to see that the director used the term Mise' en Scene to credit himself at the end as this film does not fall under the Hollywood definition of drama.

jbt4 Pretentious drivel. From the dark weird beginning of her art crammed "shop", which he has to beg her to leave and go outside for their meeting, inside was suffocating. She harangues him mercilessly as they drive... walk, talk, spar.. I kept waiting for some enlightenment. If you want to believe that love is fleeting, that two people can never communicate - this may appear meaningful. I found it tedious, with a few tender, even wise, moments; but mostly sparring and ridiculous. And I really like both the actors, especially Binoche; and who doesn't like to have glimpses of Tuscany. I should have watched this with the sound and captions off.

sidhu-karna What is the plot? What is the purpose? What is the relation between the actors? Well as you watch the movie, one understand its an experience. It is just as enjoying the moment, and not worrying about what comes next. Because, next can be anything as the story on the surface does not appear to be logical. It raises too many questions and doesn't care to answer them. It starts being like "Before Sunrise". Charming leads, great dialogues, superb imagery. It deviates from there. Where as Before Sunrise is adventurous, "Certified Copy" is mysterious.The acting is top notch. Both the lead actors take us into the moment. As you see it, each moment has a different back story and the acting conveys it in a single expression. It's like you pause for a moment and then get the whole background of what it's meant.This is my second Kiarostami movie after "Like Someone in Love", and it is just as enjoyable as it.