Close-Up

Released Dec 31, 1999

1 hr. 38 min.

Drama

Biography

List

88%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

While reading a novel by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf on the bus, Ali Sabzian strikes up a conversation with a pretty girl, Mahrokh Ahankhah. When she tells him her family admires Makhmalbaf's work, Ali pretends to be the filmmaker to impress her. Becoming friendly with the Ahankhahs, Ali tells them he is preparing a new movie, but when they uncover his true identity, he is arrested for fraud. This film reenacts the true story of the incident, with Ali and the family playing themselves.

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Dark H

That had to be the most boring, useless waste of film I have ever seen. I had to watch this for a film class and I'll never get that time back. Awful story, amateur acting by non actors. Maybe I'm missing something but this made me want to gouge my eyes out. It made no sense at all.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/14/23

Full Review

Dani G

Of all Kiarostami movies I've seen (8 of them now), this is my least favorite. It's just that it's not a very attractive story.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/12/23

Full Review

Donald J

A seminal film that blurs the line of documentary and narrative features, Kiarostami's masterpiece is something that you won't forget.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/30/23

Full Review

Brian M

Somebody really needs to explain to me why this is considered to be a great film. It's the most boring courtroom drama I've ever seen. There are a couple scenes where I find myself saying "This is still going?" It's about a person who pretends to be a director and someone pretending to be a director could have made a better film. Upon research it received mostly negative reviews when it came out and I see no reason why that should have changed. Just awful.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Tim D

I am 15 minutes into this and I will not be able to finish it, it's too annoying. This is not a movie for regular people

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/19/22

Full Review

dave s

Even by Abbas Kiarostami standards, Close-Up is somewhat of an oddity. When a man who loves the arts impersonates a famous Iranian film director and, through this deception, manages to insert himself into a family who believe the ruse, trouble ensues and he is charged with fraud. The actors in the film are the real-life defendant and the plaintiffs, who are filmed at the actual trial and recreate the events leading up to the actual trial, giving the movie the true feel of a documentary. The fact that it is shot in a grainy stock, especially the courtroom scenes, adds to the authenticity. Is it a great movie? Probably not, but the subject matter is compelling throughout.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Abbas Kiarostami

Director

Hossain Sabzian

Self

Hassan Frazmand

Reporter

Abolfazi Ahankhah

Self

Mehrdad Ahankhah

Self

Hooshang Shamaei

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

In Kiarostami's furiously clear view, religious dogma suppresses the eye's observations through the dictate of the word; his calmly unwavering images, with their wry humor and generous sympathy, have the force of a steadfast resistance.

May 8, 2017

Full Review

Keith Uhlich

Time Out

The meanings of Close-Up shift, subtly and profoundly, with every viewing; the only certainty is that its rewards are boundless.

Rated: 5/5

Mar 24, 2010

Full Review

Gary Dowell

Dallas Morning News

Successfully blends fact with fiction to produce a work more compelling than any of today's infotainment programs.

Rated: B

Apr 11, 2002

Full Review

Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

The gauzy, overlapping layers of identity and performance that Kiarostami uncovered in Close-Up still tantalize.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 3, 2019

Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Does Close-Up reveal the truth? I'd prefer to say it reveals the beauty of distortion.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 14, 2012

Full Review

Chris Barsanti

PopMatters

...not quite close enough.

Rated: 5/10

Jul 23, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

While reading a novel by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf on the bus, Ali Sabzian strikes up a conversation with a pretty girl, Mahrokh Ahankhah. When she tells him her family admires Makhmalbaf's work, Ali pretends to be the filmmaker to impress her. Becoming friendly with the Ahankhahs, Ali tells them he is preparing a new movie, but when they uncover his true identity, he is arrested for fraud. This film reenacts the true story of the incident, with Ali and the family playing themselves.

Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Screenwriter: Abbas Kiarostami
Distributor: Celluloid Dreams
Production Co: The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 31, 1999, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.7K

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