An intriguing film from Iran that makes us ponder the nature of film narrative -- documentary v scripted

Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 film from Iran, Close-up, is a complex and thoroughly intriguing combination of feature film and documentary, telling a simple and strange story in a new and surprising way that makes us ponder the very nature of film narrative itself. In essence, the film is based on a true crime (if it is actually a crime at all) in which a young (30-something maybe?) man is on a bus, reading a novel or screenplay by a well-known Iranian film director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf; when the woman sitting next to him notes what he’s reading, the man pretends to be MM himself, and he insinuates his way into the woman’s life – offering to come to her house to help her younger son into a career in film. He then proceeds to visit the family over time, telling them he would like to do a movie about the family and set it in their house. They gradually become suspicious about his behavior and have him arrested; he is charged and his case goes to court. At some point AK became interested in this strange story and stepped in: AK films much of the court hearing on the charges, and then – quite amazingly – gets the man’s permission, and family’s to tell act out the whole backstory for this film. So some of the footage is documentary (the court scenes, primarily) and some scripted and acted – but with the actual family and the man (Ali Sabzian) re-creating their roles and interactions. All told it’s a strange and sometimes moving story, and we’re never quite sure of the status of Ali: Is he a criminal and imposter? A sweet man hoping to live out his dreams of artistic success? A disturbed young man who cannot recognize the ramificaitons of his odd and aberrant behavior?