Abbas Kiarostami\u2019s first film outside his native country Iran, Certified Copy<\/em> has in Sweden received the lackluster title M\u00f6te i Toscana<\/em> which translates into Meeting in Tuscany<\/em>. Although the main reason behind this switch has been to (in addition to Juliette Binoche\u2019s name) help market the film to a broader audience through associations with similar romantic affairs, it suits Kiarostami\u2019s intentions very well.<\/p>\n Certified Copy<\/em> has thus deliberately been designed to remind one of other works, it is on the surface a copy. Using the art world as an example the director contemplates the difference between the original and the reproduction. From his point of view our fixation with the confirmation of a certain piece\u2019s authenticity is superficial and redundant since all works of art are essentially copies. In the same way that he himself has followed in the footsteps of the directors who came before him, Leonardo da Vinci was influenced by the art of others. A painting\u2019s true worth lies solely in the eye of the beholder. Consequently the value of a copy can touch and even surpass that of the original.<\/p>\n Kiarostami applies in the remaining two thirds of the movie his argument to human beings and human relations. If we all start out as originals and with time become copies of ourselves, our value (and that of our relationships) diminishes, as seen from the other perspective. In the same fashion the pair in the movie (Binoche and William Shimell) goes from original to copy to finally end up as a certified copy. But fact is none of us is unique in his\/her own way, no matter how much we would wish it to be so. All of our gestures and reactions are either inherited or acquired. What makes a human being truly special and confirms her worth is the way she is looked upon by her lover.<\/p>\n Certified Copy<\/em> opens March 11th in the US. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bamshad was born in Iran but his family had to flee the country when he was ten to seek political asylum in Sweden. Bamshad is a medical student in his final years, and spends every second of his free time … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/CertifiedCopy2.jpg\" "\\"CertifiedCopy2\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n