Close-Up (1990)
"Nema-ye Nazdik" (original title)

Pretending to be Mohsen Makhmalbaf making his next movie, Hossain Sabzian enters the home of a well-to-do family in Tehran, promising it a prominent part in his next movie. The actual ... See full summary »

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami

Stars:

Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hossain Sabzian	...	Himself
Mohsen Makhmalbaf	...	Himself
Abolfazl Ahankhah	...	Himself
Mehrdad Ahankhah	...	Himself
Monoochehr Ahankhah	...	Himself
Mahrokh Ahankhah	...	Herself
Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi	...	Herself
Ahmad Reza Moayed Mohseni	...	Family Friend
Hossain Farazmand	...	Reporter
Hooshang Shamaei	...	Taxi Driver
Mohammad Ali Barrati	...	Soldier
Davood Goodarzi	...	Sergeant
Haj Ali Reza Ahmadi	...	Judge
Hassan Komaili	...	Court Recorder
Davood Mohabbat	...	Court Recorder

Storyline

Pretending to be Mohsen Makhmalbaf making his next movie, Hossain Sabzian enters the home of a well-to-do family in Tehran, promising it a prominent part in his next movie. The actual people involved in the incident re-enact the actual events, followed by the footage from the actual trial that took place.

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Plot Keywords:

trial | mohsen makhmalbaf | film maker | tehran iran | iran | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian Azerbaijani

Release Date:

30 October 1991 (France)

Also Known As:

Close-Up

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,670 (USA) (31 December 1999)

Gross:

$2,670 (USA) (31 December 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kanoon, The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 1991 (#05).

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Connections

References The Cyclist (1987)

User Reviews

Absurd with a straight face

Almost reminiscent of an old Errol Morris documentary in its very muted sense of ridiculousness, Kiarostami's "Close-Up" deserves an "A" for originality alone. It's the true story of a man who leads a prosperous family to believe that he is Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of Iran's most revered film directors, and tells them that he wants to use them and their house in his next film. What at first appears to be an elaborate con is really nothing more than a desperate, harmless deception by a man who never amounted to anything in life and who for once feels like he's someone important.

What sets the film apart is that Kiarostami constructs the entire incident using everyone involved: from the "fake Makhmalbaf" to the family he tricked to the judge at the trial and even Makhmalbaf himself and then the incident is recreated in Kiarostami's usual banal, documentary-style fashion. In the end "Close-Up" is concerned with its director's (and Iran cinema in general's) examination of the nature of cinematic "reality" but it also a deeply felt portrait of loneliness, despair and need, and a much greater film for it. Melancholy and joyous, a miniature masterpiece.