Certified Copy (B or 3/4 stars)
A man & a woman who appear to barely know each other spend the day together in the Tuscan countryside in 'Certified Copy' (written & directed by Iranian, Abbas Kiarostami). The man is British art historian, James Miller (opera singer & Jeremy Irons lookalike, William Shimell). He is touring Tuscany to promote the Italian translation of his latest book, a provocative cultural-studies work about originality & reproduction of art. The point? That "copies" can be just as good as the original. The woman is Elle (Juliette Binoche). Though she is French, she lives in the Italian village of Arezzo & owns an antique store there. The two individuals appear attracted to each other. And at Elle's suggestion, they take a drive to the nearby town of Lucignano to look at some art.
James has a train to catch at 9pm, but he's all for this excursion. Once in transit, they chat with the kind of nervous energy that people do when they don't know each other well (lame jokes are told, laughter occurs when nothing is funny). They reach their destination, roam a provincial museum, & sip coffee at a cafe. But with time, the 2 of them are mistaken (by an older woman) as being a married couple, & they pretend to be so! Problem is ... their playacting starts to feel real; and the tone of their conversations take a distinct turn. i.e., he makes a point. She curtly rebuts it. She makes a comment. He responds coldly/matter-of-factly. A tear comes to her eye, etc. Just what is going on here? Aren't they strangers? Are they putting on a charade ever since the woman mistook them for a married couple? Or have they known each other for some time? If so, for how long, and in what manner?
Certified Copy's strongest aspect are the performances. The film is little more than 2 characters walking & talking. But thanks to the acting, I was always engaged & never bored. Though he's an opera singer, William Shimell turns out to be an amazingly naturalistic actor, as well. And I now see why Juliette Binoche won Best Actress for this film at 2010's Cannes Film Festival. She's wonderful, here. Not only does she switch effortlessly from French to English to Italian and back again (all throughout), but the way she builds Elle - we believe that she can be coy, playful, intelligent, resentful, manipulative, vulnerable, or even seductive at any given point of the plot - is marvelous. She is an actress who is able to impart any emotion possible with even the smallest of gestures/nuances.
The fun in watching 'Certified Copy' unfold is trying to figure out HOW or IF these 2 people know each other on a more personal level. But when I say "fun", that's for lack of a better word; as the proceedings get quite bitter, actually. The characters of Elle & James are full-bodied. The direction/writing is sure-footed. The cinematography is very nice; using a reflection motif - windows, windshields, mirrors. I like the use of reflection to show if the relationship btwn. Elle & James is a certified copy or an original. But overall, I didn't completely love the movie because the acting & premise is more involving than the fairly thin 'story'. Also, the film ends on a very haunting note. We are forced to decide what comes of Elle & James. So the puzzle to everything we've watched for 105 min. is left to be solved. Slightly frustrating. But overall, though the magic fades as the film progresses, I appreciate this well-acted "are they or aren't they?" romantic tragicomedy.
James has a train to catch at 9pm, but he's all for this excursion. Once in transit, they chat with the kind of nervous energy that people do when they don't know each other well (lame jokes are told, laughter occurs when nothing is funny). They reach their destination, roam a provincial museum, & sip coffee at a cafe. But with time, the 2 of them are mistaken (by an older woman) as being a married couple, & they pretend to be so! Problem is ... their playacting starts to feel real; and the tone of their conversations take a distinct turn. i.e., he makes a point. She curtly rebuts it. She makes a comment. He responds coldly/matter-of-factly. A tear comes to her eye, etc. Just what is going on here? Aren't they strangers? Are they putting on a charade ever since the woman mistook them for a married couple? Or have they known each other for some time? If so, for how long, and in what manner?
Certified Copy's strongest aspect are the performances. The film is little more than 2 characters walking & talking. But thanks to the acting, I was always engaged & never bored. Though he's an opera singer, William Shimell turns out to be an amazingly naturalistic actor, as well. And I now see why Juliette Binoche won Best Actress for this film at 2010's Cannes Film Festival. She's wonderful, here. Not only does she switch effortlessly from French to English to Italian and back again (all throughout), but the way she builds Elle - we believe that she can be coy, playful, intelligent, resentful, manipulative, vulnerable, or even seductive at any given point of the plot - is marvelous. She is an actress who is able to impart any emotion possible with even the smallest of gestures/nuances.
The fun in watching 'Certified Copy' unfold is trying to figure out HOW or IF these 2 people know each other on a more personal level. But when I say "fun", that's for lack of a better word; as the proceedings get quite bitter, actually. The characters of Elle & James are full-bodied. The direction/writing is sure-footed. The cinematography is very nice; using a reflection motif - windows, windshields, mirrors. I like the use of reflection to show if the relationship btwn. Elle & James is a certified copy or an original. But overall, I didn't completely love the movie because the acting & premise is more involving than the fairly thin 'story'. Also, the film ends on a very haunting note. We are forced to decide what comes of Elle & James. So the puzzle to everything we've watched for 105 min. is left to be solved. Slightly frustrating. But overall, though the magic fades as the film progresses, I appreciate this well-acted "are they or aren't they?" romantic tragicomedy.