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

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami

Release Date:

30 October 1991 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Pretending to be Mohsen Makhmalbaf making his next movie, Hossain Sabzian enters the home of a well-to-do family in Tehran...

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Film Maker | Tehran Iran | Iran

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

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
Abbas Kiarostami	...	Himself

Directed by
Abbas Kiarostami

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Abbas Kiarostami

Produced by
Ali Reza Zarrin	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Ali Reza Zarrindast

Film Editing by
Abbas Kiarostami

Makeup Department
Farima Zand-Pour	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Hassan Agha Karimi	....	production manager

Sound Department
Ahmad Asgari	....	sound
Mahammad Haghighi	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Ali Reza Mirzaei	....	camera operator

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Celluloid Dreams (1990-present) (worldwide) (all media)
• Les Films du Paradoxe (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2005) (Slovenia) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI)
• Contracampo (Argentina)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Janus Films (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Mongrel Media (Canada)

Also Known As:

"Nema-ye Nazdik" - Iran (original title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian | Azerbaijani

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Kanoon

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Il giorno della prima di Close Up (1996)

This is a courtroom drama unlike any you may have seen.

I find it amazing that this movie works as well as it does. The people in it are not actors. They are ordinary Iranian citizens who happened to be involved in a curious incident that aroused the interest of a very talented film director. As an American who is aware of the tension between Iran's government and its vibrant film industry, you can't help but to scour this simple story for an ideological message. Is it a protest film? Is it an "all is well with Iran" film? Well, it's not either. It's just a simple and relatively mundane story told by the people who actually lived it.

What I got out of it, and your mileage may vary, is a deep sense that there is something beautiful about seeing a relatively small matter as an event of deep significance, one that requires all your attention. There is no larger story that gives meaning to the small events portrayed in the film, but the people in it, as well as the filmmakers themselves, imbue them all with a great seriousness. All of it is done without a hint of parody or ulterior motive.

And it's not like Iran didn't have "big" issues to confront in 1990, as it was rebuilding its society after the brutal war with Iraq. The cheap and obvious thing to do, which many foreign movies try, is to tell a simple story with a background of an emotionally charged historical time. It's quite beautiful to see this movie avoid that trap. It's not like you'll be moved to tears or something, but that's a part of the point! In a way, the film's ostensible lack of manipulativeness is so fresh to American eyes that you might find yourself moved on a much deeper level. Well, that, or you might be totally confused. After all, there is no background score to instruct you on how you should be feeling at each instant.