Close-Up (1990 film)
A docufiction about an impostor who posed as a filmmaker.
Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0
Here is the rewritten encyclopedia entry:
*Close-Up* (Persian: *Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk*) is a 1990 Iranian docufiction written, directed, and edited by Abbas Kiarostami. The film centers on Hossein Sabzian, who pretended to be filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and tricked a family into thinking they would appear in his next movie. Kiarostami received permission to film the actual court case, and with the consent of those involved, had them re-enact events that took place before the trial. Everyone appears as themselves. Through this examination of identity, Kiarostami achieved broader international recognition. The film is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever made: in the 2012 *Sight & Sound* poll, critics ranked it among "The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time," and in the 2022 critics' poll, it placed 17th.
Hossein Sabzian, a poor print shop worker and cinema enthusiast, is on a bus carrying a copy of the published screenplay for *The Cyclist* by the acclaimed director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. A fellow passenger, Mrs. Ahankhah, mentions she admires the film and that her sons are interested in cinema. Sabzian claims to be Makhmalbaf, gives her the screenplay, and gets her contact details. Over the next two weeks, posing as the director, he visits the Ahankhah family several times. He flatters them, suggesting their home could be used for his next film and their sons could act. He also borrows 1,900 tomans from one son for cab fare. The father, Mr. Ahankhah, grows suspicious, especially after the supposed director seems unaware of a recent award Makhmalbaf won at an Italian festival. Journalist Hossain Farazmand is called to the house and confirms Sabzian is an impostor. Police arrest Sabzian, and Farazmand takes photos for an article titled "Bogus Makhmalbaf Arrested" in the magazine *Sorush*.
Kiarostami visits Sabzian in jail, helps move up his trial date, and secures the judge's permission to film the proceedings. At the trial for fraud and attempted fraud, Sabzian explains he impersonated Makhmalbaf out of deep admiration for his films and for cinema as art, feeling his own suffering reflected in those works. The Ahankhahs' son recounts the visits as the family’s suspicion grew. Because Sabzian is a young father with no prior record and shows remorse, the judge asks the family if they will pardon him to reduce his sentence. They agree, provided Sabzian commits to becoming a productive member of society. After his release, the real Mohsen Makhmalbaf surprises Sabzian, gives him a ride to the Ahankhahs' house, and stops to buy flowers. Sabzian smiles when Mr. Ahankhah says, "I hope he'll be good now and make us proud of him."
The cast includes Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami, Abolfazl Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah, Monoochehr Ahankhah, Mahrokh Ahankhah, Judge Haj Ali Reza Ahmadi, Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi, family friend Ahmad Reza Moayed Mohseni, reporter Hossain Farazmand, taxi driver Hooshang Shamaei, soldier Mohammad Ali Barrati, sergeant Davood Goodarzi, court recorder Hassan Komaili, and court recorder Davood Mohabbat—all playing themselves.
The film is based on real events in northern Tehran in the late 1980s. Kiarostami learned about Sabzian in 1989 from an article in *Sorush* by journalist Hassan Farazmand. He immediately halted pre-production on another project. Intrigued by the impostor, he began making a documentary about Sabzian. Kiarostami gained permission to film the trial and secured the agreement of Sabzian, the Ahankhahs, and Farazmand to re-enact earlier events. He also arranged for Mohsen Makhmalbaf to meet Sabzian and help facilitate the family’s pardon.
Initial reviews in Iran were almost entirely negative. The film found its first acclaim abroad. *New York Times* critic Stephen Holden called it "brilliant," noting its "radically drab cinema-verite style that helps blur any difference between what is real and what is reconstructed." In 2010, *Los Angeles Times* critic Dennis Lim described it as eloquent and direct, offering "a window into the psyche of a complicated man and into the social and cultural reality of Iran." On Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10. Metacritic gives it a score of 92 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim."
Five years after *Close-Up*, Moslem Mansouri and Mahmoud Chokrollahi wrote and directed the documentary *Close-Up Long Shot*, featuring Sabzian discussing his love of cinema, his impersonation, and how his life changed after working with Kiarostami. It premiered at Turin’s 14th Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani in November 1996, winning the FIPRESCI Prize – Special Mention. Nanni Moretti’s Italian short *Opening Day of Close-Up* (1996) follows a theater owner preparing to screen Kiarostami’s film at his independent cinema.
- country
- Iran
- director
- Abbas Kiarostami
- genre
- docufiction
- subject
- Hossein Sabzian
- runtime
- not specified in article
- language
- Persian
Lore & Background
Based on actual events in Northern Tehran during the late 1980s, the film originated when Kiarostami read about the incident in a magazine article by journalist Hassan Farazmand. He immediately halted his current pre-production work, drawn to the figure of the impostor. Securing permission to film the historic trial, Kiarostami gained the agreement of Sabzian, the Ahankhah family, and Farazmand to participate. They re-enacted certain events that had preceded the trial, with all individuals playing themselves. The film blurs reality and reconstruction through a radically drab cinema-verite style, as noted by a critic. It explores human identity through the story of a man who impersonated filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, conning a family into believing they would star in his new film. Kiarostami also arranged for the real Makhmalbaf to meet Sabzian and help facilitate the family's pardon. The work is considered one of the greatest films of all time, ranking 17th in the 2022 Sight and Sound critics' poll.
Reader's Guide
Close-Up is significant for its blurring of documentary and fiction, using real people re-enacting events that preceded the trial. The film gained its first appreciation abroad after initially receiving almost uniformly negative reviews in Iran. It has been cited as an influence by directors such as Martin Scorsese, and in 2012 filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia wrote that the film 'essentially destroys the very conception of a documentary and yet is one of the best ever made.' The film's legacy is cemented by its high rankings in Sight & Sound polls and its continued study as a work about human identity and the nature of cinema.
Did You Know?
- The film features the real Hossein Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Abbas Kiarostami playing themselves.
- Kiarostami secured permission from the judge to film Sabzian's trial.
From Novella to Screen: Eleven Years in Development Purgatory
Public enthusiasm for the piece was so strong that it was reprinted standalone that May. Warner Bros swiftly acquired the screen rights and brought Harrison in to draft the screenplay. Yet the project sat dormant for a full eleven years. John Huston was at one point set to direct with Jack Nicholson attached, and Orson Welles was later linked to the helm. Walter Hill also spent time reworking the script, and Harrison himself admitted to writing roughly twelve different endings. Kevin Costner had been drawn to the material since the mid-1980s, describing it as a small, manageable story carrying big universal themes, honest writing, and originality. He even contemplated directing it himself. Producer Ray Stark ultimately secured the rights from Warner Bros in a deal tied to the film Bird, and Costner leveraged his rising star power to push the project toward the screen.
A Neo-Noir Romance That Curdles Into Vengeance
The narrative follows Michael J. Cochran, a U.S. Navy aviator who has just completed twelve years of service. He receives a matched pair of Beretta shotguns and an invitation from his wealthy friend Tiburon Mendez to visit a Mexican hacienda. Tibey is also a powerful crime boss perpetually shadowed by bodyguards. There, Cochran becomes drawn to Tibey's much younger wife Miryea, a woman trapped in a lavish but loveless marriage—her husband refuses to let her bear children, fearing pregnancy would ruin her appearance. What begins as a brief affair ignites a cascade of brutality. When Tibey discovers the betrayal, he and his men ambush the couple at their hideaway: Cochran's dog is shot dead, Miryea is slashed across the face with a switchblade, and Cochran is beaten unconscious and dumped in the desert. Miryea is sold into a brothel, where she is raped and ultimately contracts AIDS. A half-dead Cochran is nursed back to health by a peasant family and sets out on a blood-soaked path of retribution, culminating in a devastating final reunion with the dying Miryea at a convent hospice.
Cast, Crew, and the Mexican Landscape
Tony Scott helmed the picture, which blends neo-noir sensibilities with neo-Western elements. The ensemble features Kevin Costner as the ex-naval pilot, Anthony Quinn as the menacing crime lord Tibey, Madeleine Stowe as Miryea, Miguel Ferrer, Sally Kirkland, and John Leguizamo in one of his earliest screen roles. The entire production was shot on location in Mexico, lending the film an authentic, sun-baked texture that reinforces its Western undertones. New World Pictures and Rastar Films produced the project, with Columbia Pictures handling distribution. The film's visual and narrative identity—dark, violent, and steeped in moral decay—was shaped by Scott's assured direction and the story's unflinching treatment of love, betrayal, and retribution, all grounded in the tangible geography of the Mexican locations.
Critical Fumble, Cult Devotion
Audiences and reviewers alike seemed unprepared for or uninterested in its unapologetically dark tone and graphic violence. Yet in the years following its theatrical run, the picture found a devoted underground audience. Viewers gravitated toward its uncompromising thematic darkness, the brutal honesty of its narrative, and Tony Scott's assured direction. The film's cult status grew organically, sustained by word of mouth among fans of gritty, character-driven crime dramas that refuse to soften their edges. For many, the combination of Costner's vulnerable performance, Quinn's chilling villainy, and the story's tragic, almost mythic arc made it a hidden gem that mainstream audiences had overlooked. Its reputation as a cult classic has only deepened with time, cementing its place as a bold, if commercially unsuccessful, entry in early-1990s American cinema.
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