Close-Up

“For me, art is the experience of what you’ve felt inside.” Nema-ye Nazdik is a work of art, there is no doubt about it. How can Kiarostami capture something so simple, yet so beautiful? He read a newspaper about this man and it affected him so deeply that he had to be involved. Kiarostami saw Sabzian in prison and asked him: “Is there anything I can do for you?” Sabzian responded: “You could make a film about my suffering.” which intrigued Kiarostami. But the fact that he got all the people in this incident to recreate scenes is remarkable. Kiarostami believes “filmmaking is a reflection of our childhood.” Cinema is not just a tool for storytelling, but a method to reconnect with the way we once perceived the world. “We can actually go places with our camera that no filmmaker anywhere else in the world can go,” he continues. He creates a bridge between the audience and lives that might be strange, but is ultimately human. The ending was as incredible as I remember it, leaving me with some sadness, but mostly hope. The style, music, and cinematography there makes it one of my favorite sequences of cinema. Imagine being able to meet Abbas Kiarostami, a dream that is unfortunately impossible in the physical sense. However, just as The Cyclist is a part of Sabzian, Nema-ye Nazdik is and will always be a part of me. I’m glad I had the opportunity to rewatch this on the Criterion Collection which contains interviews of Kiarostami. Forever grateful for this artist and his work.