Close-Up

This brilliant dramatic re-creation of an unusual case of criminal impersonation examines the conceits of cinema on one hand, but also the state of post-revolutionary Iranian society, where dire poverty and lack of opportunities can crush aspirations, artistic or otherwise. The writer-director, Abbas Kiarostami ("A Taste of Cherry"), read about Sabzian's predicament in a magazine article, decided to film the trial, and then asked everyone involved to play themselves. A fascinating mash-up of reality and artifice, "Close-Up" is a minor miracle of engaged storytelling whose compassionate final minutes will leave an indelible impression.

I had seen a reference to this film in another work and could not find a English subtitled version anywhere else. I was hesitant to purchase, as I knew very little about the movie, but I took the plunge and my goodness I'm glad I did! Interesting piece! I very much enjoyed it and hope you do too!

A film not to be missed! This is a different kind of love story—one where a film director whose identity was briefly stolen shows mercy on the man who impersonated him and helps his victims pardon him and embrace him. Singularly lovely, unique, and one of Iran’s best films ever!

One has to be patient with this movie. You may find it a little boring at first, but it finally touches you in the end. I do not know the quality of the Criterion edition, but this one is o.k. if you consider about the price. Recommended.

The Book came on time and in excellent condition. Wonderful book! I bought this book for a friend and when she got it she called to say everything was great. She loves the book and is sharing it with friends.

This is the second Iranian film that I've watched with the first one being also on this disc as the Special Feature bonus "The Traveler" which I actually enjoyed watching more than the main course. "Close-Up" isn't bad it's just that "The Traveler" moved me more and appears to be the overall better film. This Criterion Collection Blu-ray version of the film is a mixed bag. The picture quality is patchy with some frames looking really good on 1080p and the others not so good. The sound quality only comes in mono which isn't too bad given that this film is mostly dialogue-driven but still it would have been nice to have had surround sound options.The storyline is interesting though about a poor man who dares to dream outside of his current position in life resorting to escapism in the form of becoming a movie nut and imagining too deeply about being his own favourite movie director, Makhmalbaf, that when the chance came along to impersonate him, he decides to play along to see just how far he can get away with it. You sense that although he expressed remorse in court to escape jail-time his moment in the sun when he was able to fool people in a higher social status than him albeit for a short while that he was actually pleased that he was able to pull off the very thing that he had always dreamt of being which is a famous and good actor. He had that satisfied look that said that "I'm so poor there is nothing really worse that you can do to me but you cannot take away the fact I was able to act so well to get away with it for so long and to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame and now my life is complete!"This is a touching story and you can't help but root for the underdog and it shows the great gap between the rich and the poor and how despondent the poor can get when it seems no matter how hard they try they cannot break out of their realities except in the dream or fantasy world and for Sabzian at least for a while he had great difficulty distinguishing between the real and the unreal.Overall this is a good Criterion release seeing as how you get two feature films and while "Close-Up" is good I still liked "The Traveler" better.

best film i watched and loved it. the director does everything french new wave tries to do without all the pretension.

If you want to start investigating the work of the late great director, this is one good place to start.

Great! I got it on time , cheers.

There is really very little to say. Okay, perhaps endless amounts that can be said and it's all there on the internet. Quite simply, shot mostly in real time and with the real characters playing themselves, fiction and documentary overlapping, this is a masterpiece.

Un vrai film, constamment passionnant et constamment troublant par les personnages dont il s'approche et par la façon dont il les approche. A voir et à revoir. On en sort différent, on s'interroge. Les compléments sont précieux.

A masterpiece from one of the worlds greatest filmmakers. One of the very few who can make simplicity profound.An astonishing film.

Magnifique film mais il faut etre capable de lire l'Anglais correctement car les sous titres sont en Anglais.Sachez-le ! cependant,ce film est si BEAU que l'effort vaut le coup.MERCI.