Close-up is an Iranian, doco-fiction film directed by Abbas Kiarostami. This film is based on the real trial of Ali Sabzian, who impersonated the famous directed Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Kiarostami had permission to film the trial but the interesting thing with this film is that we never know what is written and what is real. the line between fiction and reality is blurred, making this doco-fiction all the more interesting to watch. In this sequence that I am analysing, Sabzian’s charges are dropped on the condition that he becomes a productive member of society. Sabzian meets Makhmalbaf outside of the court and Makhmalbaf offers to give him a ride to the Ahankhah residence in order to apologise to the family.

The scene begins inside of the court room, where Sabzian is pardoned. This scene is interesting as it looks comparatively different to the rest of the film. The footage looks outdated and is filmed from various angles, unlike the usual style of kiarostami. In Kiarostami’s films, he uses his characters as vehicles to maneuver the scenes.

Since this is a docofiction, the breaking of the fourth wall where Kiarostami and his crew are talking about the technical issues is intriguing. The topic of the conversation being sound and how their worries of not being able to get the shot was both relatable and a necessary part of the scene. It was almost as if Kiarostami was making sure the audience knew how authentic his work was and that this scene was partially planned but not completely. The audio, as Kiarostami’s notes is silent on the side of Sabzani and Makhmalbaf and all we can hear is the noise of traffic and kiarostami and his crew talking. Its almost ironic that Kiarostami breaks the fourth wall to talk about the audio, and how he’s worried that the lapel mic will not work and they will not be able to get the last shot.

Kiarostami and his crew are in a car further away and as characteristic of his films, he uses Sabziani to move around the shot. He follows him from the car, while Sabziani is on a motorbike with Makhmallbaf, weaving through traffic. In this iconic scene, we see Sabziani stop to buy flowers an apology to the family he scammed, accompanied by beautiful music.

Knowing that this is a very low budget film, yet it is considered one of the greatest films of all time, shows that a great film doesnt need a big budget or a massive production team, it only needs a story and a film maker who can tell that story.