Close-Up

Considered a cinematic landmark, this 1990 Iranian film by Abbas Kiarostami, director of the Cannes Film Festival award-winning Taste of Cherry, can be approached from several angles. Drawn to a "a good story," a journalist chronicles the arrest of a man who has represented himself to a family as renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, insinuating himself into their home. Interspersing scenes of the man's trial with dramatized scenes of his deception, Kiarostami's quasi-documentary has Makhmalbaf himself actually appearing at the film's poignant conclusion, giving this intriguing meditation on the transforming power of films the Iranian equivalent of a Hollywood happy ending. Close-Up becomes more compelling as it unfolds and the man's sad plight reveals his case to be more "complicated" than simple fraud. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—June 22, 2010—Criterion, 2 discs (on DVD, single disc on Blu-ray), 98 min., in Persian w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD and first on Blu-ray, 1990's Close-Up features a great transfer and Dolby Digital Mono sound. DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa and Jonathan Rosenbaum (authors of Abbas Kiarostami), Kiarostami's 1974 first feature The Traveler (73 min.), a “Long Shot” follow-up featurette on film subject Hossein Sabzian (44 min.), “A Walk with Kiarostami” portrait featurette by Iranian film professor Jamsheed Akrami (32 min.), a new video interview with Kiarostami (28 min.), and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Godfrey Cheshire. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a fine film.]