Intellectual banter turns cat and mouse in the ambiguous art-house film Certified Copy. Certified Copy is now playing at Criterion Cinemas, New Haven, CT.
This walk and talk, European-style drama by modernist Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is his first Western creation. The circumspect filmmaker won the Palme D’or for A Taste of Cherry (1997).
Certified Copy is akin to My Dinner With Andre and L’Avventura. Alas, it is short on interesting ideas, and long on teary hissy fits.
Playful, provocative and frustrating, the story is so thin and open-ended that it can be interpreted manifold. Was that the point?
Here’s one possible theme: Does real love accept what is or chase an ideal?
British author James Miller (opera singer William Shimell in his fine screen debut) is a quiet rebel who loves to find the authentic in what society considers “fake.” His book is called Certified Copy.
After his book tour in Tuscany, he accepts the invitation of antiques dealer Elle (Juliette Binoche, Best Actress winner at Cannes for this role) to escort him on a day trip to the village of Lucignano.
Elle passionately believes in authenticity, whether in art or in a man.
Men are not works of art, but works in progress. Elle’s husband left her years ago. Her son is annoyingly happy-go-lucky. “No understanding of time!” she wails. Time and tradition honor Elle’s ideals. Accepting what is now drives her crazy.
Miller’s love life remains a mystery. It’s clear that he values beauty where he finds it, especially when it is overlooked by society. He seems immune to many sensual delights around him, including the charms of Elle.
The actors generate fascination, especially while Elle drives the visitor through the lovely Tuscan countryside. Reflections move over the windshield as the two express their convictions. Elle reveals more of her heart. Miller stays safely within his head.
Miller admires the Cypress trees that line the road. Each one is a “copy” of its ancestors, yet original and beautiful in its own right. Are we just replicas of our ancestors, or something more?
Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi captures gorgeous scenes along the roadway and in a cafe, museum, piazza and chapel. Mostly he studies the actors’ faces, with close-ups of anguish, longing and distance.
A cafe owner (Gianna Giachetti) shares her traditional opinions about husbands and wives. She mistakes the two as a married couple. Elle goes along with the deceit. Surprisingly, Miller does too. The film begins to run aground.
As newlyweds mill about at a popular wedding site, Elle insists that the faux couple pose with a bride and groom for a picture. She pretends that they were married here 15 years ago. This, along with a mirrored scene in a piazza, goes nowhere.
Are they or aren’t they a couple? This is part of the riddle that Kiarostami employs. The story becomes tedious despite its dry humor. Binoche creates near hysteria as she insists on ideal love. Shimell grows wooden.
Elle zigs and zags between authenticity and role playing. She exhausts herself. Miller’s calm demeanor dissolves. He turns frazzled and out of sorts. Elle begins to pursue him. They circle and spar.
Love is life’s meaning for Elle. Miller (and perhaps Kiarostami) dwells in existentialism. We create life’s meaning. Love happens – or it does not.
"There are no immutable truths in art," Miller says at the book tour. When romance is so muddled, can we ever begin again?
If you like Certified Copy, you might enjoy: 35 Shots of Rum; Somewhere; Mademoiselle Chambon.
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Certified Copy 2010 / NR / 1 hour, 46 min
Cast: Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carriere, Agathe Natanson, Gianna Giachetti, Adrian Moore, Angelo Barbagallo
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Genre: Drama, Foreign Film
Languages: French, Italian and English with English subtitles
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