Certified Copy (Directors Suite) (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer-(1.54)
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	106:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Abbas Kiarostami
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Juliette Binoche William Shimell Jean-Claude Carrière Agathe Natanson Gianna Giachetti Adrian Moore Angelo Barbagallo Andrea Laurenzi Filippo Trojano
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$34.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Iranian writer-director Abbas Kiarostami plates up an intellectual head-scratcher with Certified Copy, a film that seems to work on so many levels that, like a work of art, it can be seen as banal and cold or wonderfully insightful when seen from a different angle or in a different light.

     British author (baritone William Shimell in his first film role) is in Italy presenting a talk on his new book, a treatise on the nature of reproduction and originality in art, called Certified Copy. Why do we attribute such importance and value to the "original" when the copies are often just as good and perhaps better reflective of our own existence, he asks? Everything is at heart a copy, even human behaviour. In the audience is a French antique shop owner (Juliette Binoche) who leaves her number for the writer when her impatient early teen son makes her leave the talk. When the pair unites she suggests a drive in the Tuscan countryside to see some great art and great copies. As they drive around and wander the streets of ancient towns, the pair debate, argue and agree on ideas of art and human relationships. At a lunch spot a waitress casually comments on the pair's relationship as husband and wife. On a spur the woman begins exchanging wifely comments with her husband as if in a game. As the meandering journey continues, however, the line between truth and fiction blurs. This pair certainly behaves, arguments and petty jealousies included, like a married couple and they seem to know intimate moments from each other’s past. Are they really married or just "play acting"?

     Certified Copy is Kiarostami's first film out of his native Iran. He has chosen to set it in Italy, perhaps in a homage to Roberto Rossellini's Journey to Italy, another film of a married couple realising the emptiness in their marriage against a backdrop of art and Italy. The writer speaks English and French but no Italian and the woman speaks all three languages. This results in a disconnect with the environment and each other.

     Critics have seen fit to compare it to Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise/Sunset films although they, for all their talking, are closer to love films than Certified Copy, which at times feels like an exercise in confounding the viewer, ala Last Year in Marienbad. If this all sounds a little dry and intellectual then it probably is. Kiarostami has arguably stretched his film narrative into something new, creating two characters who at times seem to be performing by design, as if to fulfil an expectation. The writer is often pompous and glib and the woman fractious and demanding. Both are often unlikeable. The actors play their roles perfectly although it is hard to know how they were directed. Binoche won the Best Actress at Cannes for her performance.

     It is hard to know whether the director is commenting on the ideas and expectations of traditional cinema with the couple descending into greater disharmony as their apparent intimacy increases. Certified Copy should be watched by anyone with an interest in complex, modern cinema.

Video

     Certified Copy was shot on the Red One camera and transferred to 35mm film for cinema showing. It was projected at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. That ratio has been preserved for the DVD release.

     The image is fairly crisp and the colours, including flesh tones, are stable and accurate. The sun-dappled Italian hillsides are perfectly rendered in this transfer.

     Digital noise is at a minimum, only seen in some of the darker moments.

     There are English subtitles for the foreign language segments.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
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Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Certified Copy carries two Dolby Digital soundtracks. One is a 51 track running at 448Kb/s and the other a 2.0 track running at 224Kb/s.

     Both are perfectly acceptable. The film is predominantly English language although there is a fair bit of French dialogue and the occasional Italian.

     All the languages are rendered clearly. There is no subtitling for the English language segments and Binoche has a distinct accent. I did not find it difficult to hear what she was saying. The surround track doesn't really have a lot of work to do and I can't recall the sub-woofer engaging. That is not a criticism of the transfer, however, as all the action really comes from the front and centre channels.

     There is no score as such.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     The only extra is the theatrical trailer.

     This film has also been released on Blu-ray in Region 1. That has a wealth of extras but it is worth pointing out that the only DVD version I could find had the same feature set. If you love the film and have a multi-region Blu-ray player perhaps buy that version.

     Certified Copy has a fairly limited appeal although a quick peek at the most reliable critics from around the globe suggests that it has its strong advocates. Those who think that narrative cinema is dead will have their case proven by this film.

     The DVD looks and sounds pretty good. There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall