Close-Up established great Abbas Kiarostami strongly as a major international filmmaker. It is based on a true story of a man named Hossain Sabzian who impersonated famous Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and was arrested subsequently. Close-Up is based on the real-life trial of Hossain Sabzian. The film deals with important issues like personal identity, poverty, ambition, sheer helplessness for not having the proper resources, dreams, disappointment, and overall a very deep passion for cinema.
Hossain Sabzian is jobless and an avid film lover. However, he does not have the means to pursue his passion. He is deeply touched by the film The Cyclist directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The film depicts the plight of ordinary people, which deeply touches Sabzian’s heart. He is so influenced by Makhmalbaf’s work that he ends up impersonating him. He buys the screenplay of The Cyclist and introduces himself as the author Makhmalbaf to a lady named Mahrokh Ahankhah inside a bus. Mrs. Ahankhah probably never saw Makhmalbaf’s photograph and believes the imposter Sabzian.
Sabzian starts visiting the house of the Ahankhahs and promises to shoot his next film there with the sons as actors. He starts rehearsing the screenplay with the Ahankhah brothers. Initially, the Ahankhahs do not suspect Sabzian and his rehearsals progress smoothly. However, truth must come out in the long run. The Ahankhahs start doubting him when they find out that Makhmalbaf has won an award but Sabzian is unaware of it. They call on a journalist Hossain Farazmand to confirm his identity. The journalist arrives there with police officials. Sabzian is finally arrested.
Filmmaker Kiarostami reaches out to the Department of Justice for permission to shoot the trial of Hossain Sabzian. Kiarostami takes Sabzian’s permission as well before the trial begins. The trial begins. Sabzian is tried on the charge of fraud and attempt to burglary. While being asked for the reason for impersonating Makhmalbaf, Sabzian cites his deep love for the latter’s films as the reason. The son of the Ahankhahs argues that Sabzian’s main objectives were fraud and burglary. The judge believes Sabzian’s justification and requests the Ahankhahs to pardon him. Though initially reluctant, the Ahankhahs finally pardon him with the directive for him to be a productive member of society. The real Makhmalbaf meets him beside the prison when he is released and drives him to the Ahankhahs’ house. They meet the Ahankhahs and Sabzian promises to be a good citizen.
If Where Is the Friend’s Home? took Kiarostami to the international arena, Close-Up established him strongly. Even though the mode of Close-Up looks like a documentary, it is not entirely a documentary but a docufiction. Multiple scenes were recreated during filming based on real-life events. All the persons involved in the real-life incident acted in the film as well. Kiarostami was about to make his new feature film after Where Is the Friend’s Home? when he read this story in Sorush magazine. This story attracted him so deeply that he decided to make a film on this. He approached the Department of Justice of the Iranian government and subsequently received the approval to shoot the real-life trial of Hossain Sabzian.
There is no doubt that Sabzian is deeply passionate about movies and a very big fan of Mohsen Makhmalbaf. When passion crosses the earthly limit, a human ends up living in a superficial world. It is very difficult for him to accept his present condition and the scarcity of resources. He starts dwelling in a dreamworld and adjusts his identity accordingly. It is not impossible for him to change his identity to a different person altogether. The objective is not to cheat somebody or commit fraud, rather he gets flattered by the recognition of his new identity. He simply cannot accept his incapability of achieving his desired success and fulfilling his dream. In the same way, Sabzian’s incapability of making progress in films makes him impersonate Makhmalbaf. It appears to be a petty crime to the judge but no crime at all to countless cinephiles. Irrespective of his mistake, audiences believe that Sabzian’s objective was never cheating or committing fraud. Close-Up is such a humane story. Kiarostami’s biggest achievement is that the entire film looks real and portrays the basic human emotions of an ordinary citizen but an extraordinary film lover.