It’s very difficult to describe Certified Copy without giving it all away. What I will say is that director Abbas Kiarostami manages to keep you guessing at every step in this French/Italian drama set in Tuscany.
An author is on a book tour to promote his book about copies of famous art. It is his contention that copies are just as important as originals because of how they affect us emotionally. A woman invites an author to her antique shop after seeing him on a book tour. Juliette Binoche and William Shimell spend the subsequent day traveling the village of Lucignano together.
Juliette Binoche carries a perfect balance of frailty and strength as each scene plays out. Her character is seemingly just as confused as the audience, but also conveys a level of knowledge that is just out of reach. William Shimell, on the other hand, takes command of every conversation yet is completely submissive.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the film was the use of mirrors in nearly every scene. It even further confused the situation and made you wonder if what was going on was real or acted. The reflections from pictures and mirrors were very subtle and added another layer to the scenes.
William Shimell as “James Miller” and Juliette Binoche as “She” in CERTIFIED COPY directed by Abbas Kiarostami - Photo Credit: Laurent Thurin Nal An - IFC Films release
The dialogue of the film is a mixture of French, Italian and English with subtitles. I really enjoyed this aspect and hope this does not deter the mainstream population, as the film is quite perplexing and will no doubt cause confusion and inspire conversation. If you get a chance to watch, it will be well worth the time.
Certified Copy premiered at Cannes last year (where Juliette Binoche took Best Actress), was shown at the 2010 New York Film Festival, and will be in limited release on March 11, 2011 by IFC Films.
Rating: Unexpectedly intense. 8/10
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