Certified Copy

I’ve never felt so under-qualified to even attempt a review on a film! This is a European film set in Italy, telling the story of a French woman and English man meeting at a book launch, as he’s an author. This is the first time that I’ve seen a film directed by the Iranian Abbas Kiarostami. I would list some of his other triumphs, but I don’t know any of them! I have much watching to do!

Juliette Binoche is the star of the show playing the (strangely throughout unnamed) woman who runs an art shop in the small Italian village where the launch is held. She heads for the event and leaves her phone number for the author, having to exit abruptly. He calls her, has a day to spare, so he signs some books for her and she takes him off for an afternoon tour in the Italian countryside. They end up in another village and the rest of the film is set there as the story reveals more questions than answers about just what is what, and who’s who and what the heck is going on!

But that’s not the point. The point, and here is where I get a bit out of my depth, is about what is real and what is a copy, following the theme of his book. The philosophical questions are then batted around regarding what is real, what is original (with a backdrop of art), what is as it seems and what might not be. The theme is cleverly intertwined with the two of them as they discuss every subject under the sun - life, love, relationships and meaning.

As I said, this is not a nice neat Hollywood film with nice tidy feel-good outcomes, but rather a kind of typical art-house film - or as some suggest - a copy of a typical art-house film! As it meanders around the brain, the viewer begins to understand what points are being made here and that the whole film has deeper meaning about many aspects of the events and about the characters.

The author is played very nicely, too, in a Jeremy Irons kind of way, by William Shimell who has a short list of interesting acting jobs, but is actually a British operatic singer. Juliette Binoche remains a quite superb actor, with a list of credits as long as your arm and doesn’t disappoint here for a single frame. Most of the other actors are relatively unknown but have clearly been chosen wisely and each inject quality to the production with their small parts.

The photography is interestingly executed with interesting interiors, lighting and minimalist camera sweeps, in keeping with (a copy of!) European cinema. The rest of the set is largely as-is on location in the lovely Italian countryside. There's a 'European life' feel about the proceedings as you would expect in this setting.

It’s a slow-burner of a film which relies on the viewer thinking, not mindlessly digesting. You have to be in the right mood for it. Languages (Italian, French, English - with subtitles of course, where needed) are leapt between often mid-conversation, but that fits with the overall theme - which by that stage you should be on-board with and realise what’s going on. This, like many aspects of the film are symbolic of the theme. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I’m sure that I also probably missed some of the deeper meaning and clever delivery. I’ll certainly watch it again. To copy my previous viewing!