SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

aharunilhan-578-619044 Beside entertainment side, cinema has a massive potential of having a journey to either someone's life or ours. After some point, borders between someone or us disappear. That point is where cinema starts to reach its real meaning. Abbas Kiarostami's 1990 made film 'Nema-ye Nazdik - Close-Up' starts its journey in a police station and passes to our lives through the life of a 'film director'. Like a wide angle shot which zooms in for a close-up to our hearts. Similiar to Werner Herzog's characters, Husain Sabzian (acts for himself) becomes named as a fraud and a criminal. With the extraordinary effort of Kiarostami, we as the audience see beyond all these titles like fraud or criminal. Distinct way of filmmaking makes the film a documentary-fiction as the story and some of the shots are from real footages. Pretending like Mohsen Makhmalbaf is the heaven of Sabzian in this world. When police comes to arrest him, Sabzian becomes pulled to the earth from the sky, just like falling of the director character of Fellini's cult film, Otto Mezzo (1963). Directors are like patterns or samples of the God in the world. Adaptation to the realities of social world is the hardest part for any human who has a sharp emotional sensitivity like Sabzian has. In the court scene, when Sabzian succeds to tell why he had lied, we understand that everyone has the potential of this sensitivity and it is possible to transfer to someone else. That is why, Fellini's character Guido can never give up trying to tell what he wants to film. This seems to be the controversy all Sabzians will encounter through the life. With his pure intentions, Sabzian made everyone understand how 'thin' we can be. Will we succed to be that 'thin'?

valadas And a psychological one. This movie is only, so to speak, about a man, his mind and his conscience and this is well portrayed by his attitude and his reactions. His love of art and cinema led him to impersonate a famous film director and convincing of that a rich family to whom he said he would like to make a movie at their home and with them He ended up charged with fraud and his behaviour during trial was moving and very expressive. This story happened really and most of the performers were the real people that intervened on the real event which makes this movie half documentary half fictional. That simple story is so well directed and performed that keeps you interested and sensible through the whole film projection.

Cosmoeticadotcom Although this film was made almost two decades ago, there is an odd feeling one gets while watching Sabzuian, for he looks very much like Iran's current wacko President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, although he is antipodal from that man in nature and demeanor. Not that this was apparent at the time, wgen Sabzian had his moment in the sun, and the President was a nobody, but it emphasizes just how human a character Sabzian is. Sabzian, incidentally, is easily the best 'actor' in the film; the others (especially the rich family members, seem amateurs, which adds to the 'realism' as well as highlighting the dissonance between the real and near real. Closeup occupies an odd spot in a pantheon of films that includes the whole of Michael Moore's quasi-documentaries, as well as Orson Welles' brilliant F For Fake. Yet, this film feels 'realer,' and all the credit must go to Kiarostami for, technically, the film is shot very simply and plainly- no fancy shots nor editing by cinematographer Ali Reza Zarrin-Dast. Just the facts, and its what Kiarostami includes and excludes that makes this film, rather than breaks it. And, in a case of what may be 'poetic justice,' the film worshipping Sabzian actually does become the star of his own film- not one he made- as he dreamt of doing, but one which was made about him and his dream's destruction.Ultimately, the film plays out like one of those old nested folk dolls within a folk doll, within a folk doll, etc. in that films led to a real life situation which led to another real life experience which led to a film. It is not quite a great film, but far closer to it than one might conceive such a bare bones film, with such a simple premise, could archive. And all the credit for this must go to Kiarostami- a man whose art clearly is a synergy of lesser things. It will be interesting to see just how high his work can reach, if he was just able to get a bit more to work with. Close-Up is a film any lover of cinema should see, and even those who are vapid, because Hossain Sabzian is likely the best mirror those sorts will ever get.

FilmCriticLalitRao One close look at the history of cinema will tell that some of the great films have been made using everyday events as background.This is done in order to include a certain dose of creativity in scenario.This is also the case of Iranian film Nemaye Nazdik (Close Up) based on a famous incident of impersonation involving great Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf.If we believe that cinema is like magic and its actors and actress are like stars,we must also be ready to face the negative consequences of the so called star status of cinema's luminaries.There are many admirers who do not understand the detrimental consequences of their actions when they try to imitate what is fiction.Close Up talks of one such case involving a poor Iranian man named Ali Sabzian who deceives a lady by stating that he would like to shoot in her house as he is famous Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.His deceit is exposed and he is imprisoned.All this might appear as a simple tale to layman but in reality "Close Up" is more complex than one can think.It is a film which challenges our notions of cinema and reality,truth or falsehood.As these concepts are subjective in nature,it is better if viewers are left to draw their own conclusions after having seen the film.One of the greatest scenes from "Close Up" shows Ali Sabzian (as he is sobbing uncontrollably) being comforted by great Mohsen Makhmalbaf.This is the most perfect example of how reality meets reality.