Closed Curtain (Jafar Panahi, Kambuzia Partovi, 2013): Iran

Reviewed by Andres Cruz. Viewed at the AFI Fest 2013.

A very subjective but interesting movie. You, as an audience have to interpret the movie as you watch it. It is definitely worth watching and is also an amazing piece of art made by Director Jafar Panahi. What makes this movie really captivating is its background story, the “behind the scenes” story about its filmmakers. Jafar Panahi is a very well-known director that is actually in jail and is banned from filmmaking for more than 20 years. So this film, in a way, is illegal.

I watched this film at the Chinese 4 Theater at the AFI Film Festival 2013. The director Jafar Panahi is well recognized by some of his previews pieces of art such as “This is not a Film” (2011), and “The Circle” (2000). He, along with his screenwriter Kambosiya Partovi are the actors of their own films. That means that this films are very low budget and are made as a form of protest and passion for this art that is filmmaking.

This film takes place in Jafar Panahi’s head. Probably, he is afraid of the outside world and his restriction of filmmaking. The film starts with a very long and slow shot that keeps the audience inside the house watching towards the outside world. We are introduced to Kambosiya and his dog that are living inside the house with a constant fear of the outside world. Time passes and some people enter this subjective world which altered the comfort and life of the characters in the movie.

There is basically no music in the entire film, only normal diegetic sounds. The editing is not fast at all, and there is no cross dissolves or another editing effects through the movie. The acting is very natural and persuasive. In the story there is a dog that Kambosiya takes care of. In my interpretation of the film this dog is only  the fear that both of the filmmakers have about the outside world. Like I said, this is an “illegal” movie and they are afraid of the authorities coming and take control of the situation.

One film that is very similar to this one is “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” by Mohammad Rasoulof (2013). It is very similar because both filmmakers are in jail and they are banned to filmmaking for 20 years. Both films have a revolutionary message regarding the situation in Iran and the brutal sentences for filmmakers that want to express their ideas freely.

This is a very artistic and well-expressed film. Ideas are shared in the movie and a clear explanation of fear and danger is showed as well. It is definitely worth to watch it and also it is important to be aware of the situation that is actually happening in Iran, and in some way, support the Iranian Filmmakers. In my opinion, this is not a movie that was made to entertain the audience in the movie theater. This is a movie that a talented filmmaker Jafar Panahi made to express his ideas and frustration from filmmaking banned.