Certified Copy (2010)
Certfied Copy (FR) Directed by Abbas Kiarostami Written by Abbas Kiarostami Starring Juliette Binoche; William Shimmel; Adrian Moore; Gianna Giachetti; Angelo Barbagallo
The marvelous Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who has a history of employing non-actors, steps a bit outside his wheelhouse to create a vehicle for previous collaborator (Shirin) and internationally known actress Juliette Binoche. It is interesting to see Kiarostami working outside his native language (the film easily transitions between French, English, and Italian), and his style is clearly evident in some of the longer takes and shots of characters in cars while driving, but the film is all about the luminous Binoche. It has been some time since Kiarostami made a narrative, but for him and other Iranian filmmakers the separation between narrative and documentary is often elusive. Iranian cinema is full of conscious, meta nods to the form itself, as well as a certain sleight of hand involving very the nature of fact vs. fiction. The title of the film points toward the idea of replication in its many forms, and throughout we are never entirely sure of the films’ reality. stylistically, Kiarostami eschews his standard long sweeping panned shots, but we still gaze upon vistas of a remote, rural area, and the director also employs a series of close-ups featuring the actors (especially Binoche) speaking directly into camera when talking to their scene partner. Binoche plays Elle, a woman with a young son, who may or may not be a journalist. In the beginning of the film she attends a lecture from British author James Miller (William Shimmel). The two later meet for what is presumably an interview, but the nature of their relationship begins to come into question. Though there are some scenes featuring supporting players (Kiarostami mixes experienced and non-experienced actors) Certified Copy is essentially a two-hander, and there is significant philosophizing about art (which Miller’s book Carbon Copy is about), a subject that is related to personal relationships. Shimmel is an opera singer by profession, and in his best moments his stoic, inexpressive manner and upright countenance reminds one of Ciaran Hinds or David Straithan. In direct contrast, Binoche is her usual delightful presence, illuminating the screen with minimalistic small gestures and looks that breathe life into the somewhat dry proceedings. If one can get beyond the abstract nature of the relationship between the leads (a commentary in and of itself), there is much to glean between the lines about the nature of men and women and long term romantic attachments.