Review: Certified Copy

“Certified Copy” is a film that can hardly be spoiled by discussion. It demands to be seen and further discussed as soon as it completes casting its spell on you.

The painting “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugene Delacroix rests on the wall in the Louvre. When I visited there, I saw it and immediately thought of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.”

The symbolic meaning of the song associated with the fake image on the Coldplay album cover meant more to me than the symbolism behind the real thing. In fact I admired both equally.

The academic argument that serves as the initial basis of “Certified Copy” is that we often admire the copy of a work of art because in truth, all art is really just a representation of something.

But the miracle of Abbas Kiarostami’s film is in the seamlessly cinematic way he exposes the differences between what we think is real and what we think must be fake by staging stark and intertwining romances.

“Certified Copy” is a film that can hardly be spoiled by discussion. It demands to be seen and further discussed as soon as it completes casting its spell on you. Continue reading “Review: Certified Copy”