Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Cast: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Monoochehr Ahankhah, Mahrokh Ahankhah, Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi, Hossain Sabzian
Close-Up is a 1990 Iranian drama-documentary film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, telling the true story of Hossain Sabzian, a man arrested for impersonating renowned director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, as the actual participants reenact events from the case on camera.
What is Nema Ye Nazdik about?
When a young, film-obsessed man named Hossain Sabzian befriends a Tehran family by claiming to be celebrated filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the deception eventually comes apart and Sabzian is arrested. Kiarostami gains permission to film inside the courtroom and to reconstruct key moments with the real individuals involved — the Ahankhah family, Makhmalbaf himself, and Sabzian — who play their own roles in front of the camera. The film moves between courtroom testimony and dramatized re-creations, exploring what drove Sabzian to his unusual act: a deep love of cinema, a longing for recognition, and the blurry boundary between who we are and the stories we inhabit. Neither a straightforward documentary nor a conventional narrative, the picture holds these tensions open without easy resolution.
Cast & crew
Abbas Kiarostami directs, also serving as his own interviewer inside the courtroom scenes. Hossain Sabzian appears as himself — the central figure of the real case. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of Iran's most celebrated filmmakers, also plays himself. The Ahankhah family — Monoochehr, Mahrokh, Abolfazl, and Mehrdad — participate as the household at the heart of the deception.
Context & significance
Close-Up arrived at a pivotal moment for Iranian cinema, when directors were finding ways to question the relationship between reality and representation. Kiarostami's decision to use real individuals to restage a real legal case produced a work that sits at the intersection of documentary, drama, and philosophical inquiry. For diaspora viewers, the film carries additional resonance: Sabzian's attachment to cinema as a lifeline, and the court's patient examination of his inner world, speak to themes of longing, identity, and the power of storytelling that travel well beyond their original context. The picture holds an IMDb score of 8.2 and is regularly cited in international discussions of the documentary form.
Where & how to watch
Close-Up is available on K-Time with its original Persian audio. No VPN is required and there is no geo-blocking. Watch on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — subscribe once and cancel anytime.