Close-Up (1990)

The true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.

Director:

Abbas Kiarostami

Writer:

Abbas Kiarostami

Stars:

Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hossain Sabzian	...	Self
Mohsen Makhmalbaf	...	Self
Abolfazl Ahankhah	...	Self
Mehrdad Ahankhah	...	Self
Monoochehr Ahankhah	...	Self
Mahrokh Ahankhah	...	Self
Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi	...	Self
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 | mockumentary | impersonation | filmmaking | postmodern | 

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Safdie Brothers's five favorite films of all time.

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Goofs

When Sabzian and Makhmalbaf meet, there is a bundle in Sabzian's hand. He gets on the motorbike with the bundle in his hand. Later on, during their ride on the motorbike, the bundle is not there any more.

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Crazy Credits

The film's title doesn't appear on screen until almost sixteen minutes into the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Opening Night of Close-Up (1996)

User Reviews

Cinema so fresh, you can taste the difference

Truly the best, freshest, most truly independent cinema is coming from Iran - or at least was in the nineties. Time will tell. My favourite is "Salaam Cinema", a film I would love to see again. This film, from Iran's Goddard (I spose you'd call him) Abbas Kiarostami is in the docu-drama tradition. It uses the real people who took part in the real events portrayed in the movie, it uses a documentary style, but it is a film - not a documentary. I feel you could add, but is it not a documentary? Because at times, you just don't know. A truly great film because it really sucks you in, time passes, I have no idea how long it ran because it was over too soon. Magic!

Details

Official Sites:

sourehcinema

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian Azerbaijani

Release Date:

30 October 1991 (France)

Also Known As:

Close-Up

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,670, 2 January 2000

Gross USA:

$2,670

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kanun parvaresh fekri, Kanun parvaresh fekri

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (2K restored version) (some scenes) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1