FAR FROM CLOSE
By Darin Skaggs
In my early years of being a film fanatic I watched the “classics.” Most of these, while still being great had mostly the same structure. First the set up, then a conflict to solve, there is a romance going on the whole time and then the plot is resolved. Now seeing most of the classics I now search for more non-structure work. Abbas Kiaramstami’s Close-Up is one of the most interesting and unique films I’ve seen my whole life.
Close-Up is based on a true story about a man who poses as a famous director in Iran. He ends up at this families home, they welcome him in, they give him shelter and they feed him. Eventually the family finds out who he really is and the man is put to trial for identity fraud. The catch for this movie is that instead of the director hiring actors to play these roles he hires the actual people involved to play themselves. Not only that but the director goes in and films the real trial.
While basically being reenactments of a strange story it also works on many emotional levels. By using the real people you can get the real reactions and how they really felt during the time of the incident. It is a film about trying to accept who you are. This man who pretends to be a famous director seems sad. The film says that there are consequences to not being yourself and that it is a lot harder to live the life of someone you’re not then be who you are. This film is one of the weirdest and beautiful films I’ve ever seen.
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