Close Up

By: Adam Bekhet

The film Close-Up is a tale of a man who finds himself deceiving an entire family for personal gain. And although it may seem the man behind all this must be sinister, but I actually found myself seeing the human in him by the time I finished watching the film.

Hossain Sabzian, Close-Up’s focal point is an average cinema lover. After riding a bus while reading a famous screenplay, a women approaches him and begins to appreciate the text. To impress this women he poses as the famous director and writer Mohsan Makhmalbaf. After fooling this woman she agrees to have her house and kids be in one of his upcoming films. As he visits her family multiple times the father of the family starts to become suspicious of Sabzain. At one point he even borrows money for cab fare. The father is convinced after seeing a magazine with a younger, different looking Makhmalbaf. After receiving further conformation that he is an imposer he calls the police on Sabzian who then gets arrested. Abbas Kiarostami, a famous screenplay writer, visits Sabzian and proceeds to try to speed his legal process up. In this segment of the movie, you can feel Kiarostami’s emotion parallel that of the traditional cold treatment they give Sabzian. During his trial, he is pardoned because he is a father with no record. At the end he meets the real Mohsan Makhmalbaf which ties the story together. Close-Up gives viewers an in depth view at Iranian Culture in the 80s.