Close-Up: The Visual Jarring Tone & Related Rambling

Commonly used and referenced film review quotes on the internet of Close-Up:

“The definitive film-on-film commentary.” - Ed Gonzalez, Slant

“Neither a documentary nor a drama but a provocative, unconventional merging of the

two, a meditation on perplexities of justice, social inequity, and personal identity that also

subtly interrogates the processes and purposes of cinema.” - Godfrey Cheshire, Criterion

Collection

For a critically acclaimed film, Close-Up, directed by Abbas Kiarostami and released in 1990, is a notable example of not just being a quasi “mockumentary”, but also being cutting-edge, as it was decades ahead in its choices of protocol and technique for stylistic outcome and visual tone. This led many film critics to define Close-Up by labeling it as “docufiction.” A key part of the methodology, when viewing Close-Up, is that what is happening in front of your eyes seems much stranger than what appears to be. That is because for a large portion of the film, a key scene was done by using actual footage of the event of a real-life trial. Then the film was meticulously edited, cutting into proportion shots that were reenactments using all the same who’s who in the courtroom, who witnessed this Kafka-like trial of ordeals the first time around.

Abbas Kiarostami, while making Close-Up, used two different film measurement formats, blending them lawlessly. All reenactments were shot on 35mm film, while many of the reenactments in the courtroom were done in 16mm. The purpose of using 16mm film for the reenactments performed in the same courtroom was solely to achieve the aesthetic that contributes to the quality of “low fidelity.” This helped the visual narrative of Close-Up because it made the splicing between the footage of the real-life trial, and the reenactment seem flawless. This was done because there are many claims on the internet that portions of the original 16mm footage from the real-life trial were mildly damaged.

The brilliance of Abbas Kiarostami is evident in the development of Close-Up, particularly in the following ways: by using 35mm film to shoot scripted reenactment scenes of the events, which were reenacted by the same cast of characters involved in the real-life trial. Abbas Kiarostami knew how to apply and when to use the different film measurements. The 35mm film offered a higher resolution and image quality, which, when used, gave Close-Up a more traditional appearance, befitting films as an art form or entertainment. Abbas Kiarostami also used 16mm film for many scenes in Close-Up. It’s noted that he purposefully used grainier, lower-quality 16mm stock, as mentioned for the scenes of the actual court trial and real-life footage. Many film critics believe, and have stated over the years, that the very low-quality 16 mm film is a factor in this claim for Abbas Kiarostami’s film Close-Up, on why it looks so “raw” and gave the film its unpolished look, which many believe helped authenticate the parts of the film that were not reenactments.

“The trial, which forms the centerpiece of the film, begins with a clapperboard that says, “Scene 1, Shot 1, Law Courts, Nov. 9” and the typical clap indicating that filming has started. The impersonator, named Sabzian, enters the courtroom in handcuffs. The quality of the film itself is grainy 16 mm, different from the clean images shot on 35 mm for the reenactment scenes, and the impression one has is that this is documentary footage. This is the real trial. But what if the use of these devices—the clapperboard, the 16 mm film, the boom microphone that enters the shot at one point—are more artifice, simply devices used to present an image of authenticity? When I viewed the film, I assumed this was the real trial. Yet by filming the trial, Kiarostami permanently alters it.” (Neal)

Close-Up is absolutely the foundation, either on a subliminal or subconscious level, of the origins of two very distinct classifications of current-day niche styles of visual shooting. The first of the two is the more niche label or classification, which can be referred to as “gritdeo,” This is a combination of the words “gritty” and “video.” Mainstream films that I believe fall into this category are The Blaire Witch Project, and Loose Change, directed by Dylan Avery. These projects have a similar shooting style of close-ups, low-quality video with almost no lighting incorporated, and use disconcerting editing techniques. The shots are connected by jump cuts that are meticulously edited together, which creates a feeling of out-of-control motion. Regarding the second, the very distinctive classification of videos that feature a strong editing style, comparable to Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up, are videos deliberately uploaded with the intention of being viewed only on the World Star Hip Hop website and consumed by the online community of World Star Hip Hop aficionados. The reasoning behind mentioning this online genre of editing is that the Safdie Brothers have stated numerous times that Close-Up, directed by Abbas Kiarostami, and video content uploaded onto World Star Hip Hop were both fundamentally crucial for the development and execution of their film Uncut Gems.

The Safdie Brothers, when making Uncut Gems, implemented the two previously mentioned influences into the film by deliberately choosing camera angles for shooting and incorporating bizarre sequence editing, as seen in Uncut Gems. In Close-Up, director Abbas Kiarostami employs a close-up shot for each subject speaking in the film, mimicking local news coverage from reports originating in Western Europe and the Soviet Union.  Having seen numerous news reports of this type for a significant portion of my life, thinking about their techniques for editing and presentation has become second nature to me.  Additionally, the fact that Abbas Kiarostami directed the film Close-Up with such extreme mathematical precision, resulting in a runtime of 98 minutes. This only helps the movie in terms of viewership interest. If the film were any longer, it could have been less successful. The effect of all these techniques is to create a film that is thought-provoking and even more visually jarring.

I don't know which is fairer. To label this portion as a tangent or a complete non sequitur. At the same time, doing internet digging on the topic of Close-Up and its various restorations. I managed to find a statement that will be quoted, and it comes from TCM’s streaming service, WATCH TCM.

“The film has previously been available on DVD through Facets. Criterion has remastered the

film from a new 35mm print, with a digital clean-up of surface grit and scratches, for both DVD

(two discs) and Blu-ray (single disc) release. Needless to say, it's a superb job and a substantial improvement from the old Facets release, not only cleaner and clearer but with a sharp clarity to the 35mm scenes (which stand-out in contrast to the 16mm "actuality" footage).”

In my opinion, regarding that statement, it might be a bit of an overstatement, because I own two DVD copies of Close-Up, distributed by Facets, and a Criterion Collection Blu-ray of Close-Up. With my own eyes, I could not tell the difference in quality changes. I felt that was an observation worth mentioning. Yes, it was brief, a tangent, or a non sequitur.

Moving forward, I will now shift entirely to a different topic, focusing on soft-style journalism and televised media, which are characterized by close-up shots of the interview subject and are driven solely by their words. The best examples of these can be found and viewed on YouTube, starting with PBS Frontlines’ bonus content, which they uploaded directly to their YouTube channel. The second example is DJ Vlad’s YouTube channel, VladTV. I’ve been taking deep dives into the YouTube video catalog of Vlad TV. I was binge-watching these two YouTube channels for ideas on podcasts that require minimal editing. I am always looking for ways to make my podcast better, and build an audience, so I spend a lot of time on podcast media for that purpose. This research is best shown in my recent video project, “Words of Wisdom From John LoCicero.” Continuing by copying and pasting the written description explicitly made for the video.

"Words of Wisdom From John LoCicero was an unplanned documentary-style project that aimed more to be classified as a humorous mockumentary film interview, incorporating significant visual aesthetics and formatting, inspired by two prominent examples. The first being interviews conducted by DJ Vlad for his YouTube channel, VladTV. The second example is PBS Frontline Interviews done within the last decade and uploaded to YouTube. John LoCicero is currently 95 years old, still sharp and insightful about New York City politics."

Again, coming full circle on studying the media formatting of VladTV, the internet docuseries, and PBS Frontline, the televised weekly news programming, all upload the audio of their products as podcasts on RSS Feeds. "Words of Wisdom From John LoCicero” project's ripped audio was worthy and had to be uploaded onto Let Us Be Idiots' RSS podcast feed because of its strong audio quality without the attached visuals.