Certified Copy (2010) Copie conforme (original title)

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writers:

Caroline Eliacheff (collaborator on screenplay)
Abbas Kiarostami
(more)

Release Date:

19 May 2010 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.

Plot Keywords:

Art | Copy | Book Reading | Cafe | Applying Lipstick

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Elle
William Shimell	...	James Miller
Jean-Claude Carrière	...	L'homme de la place
Agathe Natanson	...	La femme de la place
Gianna Giachetti	...	La patronne du café
Adrian Moore	...	Le fils
Angelo Barbagallo	...	Le traducteur
Andrea Laurenzi	...	Le guide
Filippo Trojano	...	Le marié
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Manuela Balsinelli	...	La mariée

Directed by
Abbas Kiarostami

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Caroline Eliacheff		collaborator on screenplay
Abbas Kiarostami
Massoumeh Lahidji		adaptation

Produced by
Angelo Barbagallo	....	producer
Gaetano Daniele	....	line producer
Claire Dornoy	....	executive producer
Charles Gillibert	....	producer
Marin Karmitz	....	executive producer
Marin Karmitz	....	producer
Nathanaël Karmitz	....	producer
Abbas Kiarostami	....	producer
Patrick Quinet	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Luca Bigazzi

Film Editing by
Bahman Kiarostami

Casting by
Fabiola Banzi

Production Design by
Giancarlo Basili
Ludovica Ferrario

Set Decoration by
Stefano Picciarelli

Makeup Department
Franck-Pascal Alquinet	....	key hair stylist
Fabienne Robineau	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Simona Chiocca	....	unit manager
Ivana Kastratovic	....	production manager
Maria Panicucci	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marco Pettini	....	assistant director

Art Department
Cristina Cecili	....	lead painter
Lorenzo Sartor	....	carpenter
Francesco Spina	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Olivier Hespel	....	sound
Grégory Noël	....	boom operator
Dominique Vieillard	....	sound editor
Dominique Vieillard	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dominique Vieillard	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Francesco Antonio Maggi	....	digital compositor
Rodolfo Migliari	....	visual effects supervisor: Chromatica
Miriam Pavese	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Alessandro Abate	....	second assistant camera
Salvatore Bognanni	....	assistant camera
Paolo Cafiero	....	assistant camera
Patrizio Marra	....	key grip
Fabio Policastro	....	best boy
Alessandro Saulini	....	gaffer
Michel Tripepi	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sandra Berrebi	....	costume supervisor
Elise Cribier-Delande	....	costume assistant
Marzia Nardone	....	associate costume designer
Agathe Wesolek	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Andrea Orsini	....	color timer
Fabrizio Pistone	....	digital conform
Maria Fantastica Valmori	....	first assistant editor

Other crew
Elizabeth Alexandris	....	script supervisor
Matilde Barbagallo	....	trainee
Giacomo Cardone	....	production assistant
Bruno Di Bartolomei	....	accountant
Giulia Fraschi	....	production assistant
Alessandro Luzi	....	cashier
Alfredo Miserocchi	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• MK2 Productions
• BiBi Film
• Abbas Kiarostami Productions
• France 3 Cinéma (in association with)
• Canal+ France (in association with)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (support)
• Toscana Film Commission (support)
• Anglo-Belge Special Risks NV
• Artémis Productions
• Cinémage 4
• Cofinova 6 (in association with)
• France Télévisions
• Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne
• Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)
• Rai Cinema
• Regione Toscana
• Soficinéma 5

Distributors

• MK2 Diffusion (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• MK2 Éditions (2010) (France) (DVD)
• Alamode Filmverleih (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2010) (UK) (theatrical)
• Euro Space (2011) (Japan) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Mongrel Media (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Praesens-Film (2010) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Seven Films (2010) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sundance Selects (2011) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Al!ve AG (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Artificial Eye (2010) (Ireland) (all media)
• Atalanta Filmes (2010) (Portugal) (all media)
• Atlantic Film (2010) (Finland) (all media)
• CDI Films (2010) (Chile) (all media)
• CDI Films (2010) (Paraguay) (all media)
• CDI Films (2010) (Uruguay) (all media)
• CDI Films (2011) (Argentina) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Film1 (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• First Distributors (2010) (China) (all media)
• First Distributors (2010) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Imovision (2011) (Brazil) (all media)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Mantarraya Producciones (2010) (Mexico) (all media)
• Media International Pictures (2010) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)
• Mediasoft Films (2010) (South Korea) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Alf Service  lighting balloons
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Also Known As:

"Copie conforme" - France (original title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

France | Italy | Belgium

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:12A | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:Atp | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG13

Filming Locations:

Lucignano, Italy

Company:

MK2 Productions

Trivia:

At some point Robert De Niro was in negotiation for the role of James Miller, but eventually it was offered to William Shimell.

Quotes:

Elle:I know you hate me. There's nothing I can do about that. But at least try to be a little consistent.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.18" (2011)

My 379th Review: Neither loved it or hated it: more intrigued

All reviewers so far have either opted for 8 or 2. That is a sure sign that something is going on, I am willing to risk flack from all sides and say that Cerified Copy is was it is: a look at how we layer our relationships, an hour and forty minutes of conversations, broken with moments of silence and walking, and about two people who may or may not be in a some sort of relationship or connection.

It has originality - it will not be like other films seen recently in mainstream European cinema, there is little or no plot, or action, rather we dealing with conversation, and the state of the heart and the mind in a fiercely non-Hollywood fashion. This is a film about thinking about emotions, and is almost non-linear in its conversations and if that concept doesn't appeal then it may well not be viewable.

It is, however, despite itself, pretty mesmerizing - what will they say next? what other aspect of why relationships fail and succeed will be tossed into the salad? who are they? why the games? etc;

The conversations are both alienating and intimate, and have a "play-acting" aspect that allows the psychosexual aspect of how we adults explore potentiality to be examined in a way that is normally reduced to sexual tension and flirting on film. This is a film that demands attention - this is not dumb film-making. I recognize the conversations and the feeling well, but in a sense the connection is too contrived to be really successful - but it certainly touches that part of intimacy that is normally, at best, ethereal.

The setting of Chianti and a beautiful hot summer day, with cicadas and a wonderful small town to explore, lightens this - but it remains a film for philosopher romantics. It is, as others here have noted in better ways than me, film as film - here there are images and shots that work to compliment the alienation and solipsistic nature of the two leads.

A film about questions that offers few answers, it is certainly intriguing and if you are into human exploration and condition worth the effort to watch.