Close Up

I didn't know a great deal about this film before i saw it, but i was incredibly impressed. It deals with a young Belgian filmmaker who is accused of 5 counts of murder in a bar shooting, the protagonist (played excellently by a young Robert De Niro lookalike) has no memory of the incident. To begin with this is not new territory and may remind you of Primal Fear but what follows is an interesting display of the role the media have in modern criminal proceedings, both the police and Stefens defence attorney use the mass media circus around the case to control the outcome, blurring the lines between truth and fiction. Eventually blurring Stefens own understanding of the event. The film can be read as a critique of the role of the media in criminal proceedings something were hearing more and more about, but I would rather read the film as a brilliant exploration of the media's role in constructing realities and the postmodern infringements of the media on a important institution, the law. The films self reflexive position (young Stefen as a filmmaker) provides an interesting discourse on the role of the visual image and reality in contemporary society and how easy this constructed reality can be disrupted for personal gain.

This movie represents an incredible impact achieved with few resources. I was especially amazed by the creative placement of well-made raw film material showed within the movie, it determined most of the gritty setting throughout the movie. With "Close Up" being Przemyslaw Reut's director and screenwriter debut, he really did a brilliant job at both of them. The story is well-written and in such a way that it relies much on the viewer's own interpretation.

The actors Michael Mauro and Eric Leffler portrayed very realistically characters that everybody is familiar with in some way through real life. Mauro playing an aspiring filmmaker from Belgium named Stefan van der Berg, a main suspect in a gruesome shooting spree he can't recall and Leffler playing a lawyer with a shark grin named Joseph Kline, seeking fame and fortune through the case of Stefan.

I think the movie was additionally trying to show a dark side of New York, but it surely succeeded at showing a dark side of human nature and it's secret intentions.

Like most low budget movies this one deals with the over popular topics of cops, drugs, killing and cursing. Unlike most low budget movies this one uses these topics as they should be used: realistically, raw and freaky. The low budget invited the makers to spend their money creatively; a constant heady mood, combined with a good sense of raw style and superior acting. An example of intelligent film making with utmost love for the medium. And the casting is great, this guy even looks Belgian!

Close Up is by times very hard to watch, thanks to the ultra-realistic portrayal of intolerable injustice. It makes you realize that there are some pretty ruthless minds in this world. Only minor points are the by times indistinguishability (eh, well, you know what I mean) of the coppers, as well as the amateurish way of some of the flashbacks (especially the dead people from the bar). For the rest: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.