"Close-Up" Discussion: Watch it at Home First

"Close-Up" (1990) is weird in some ways, but isn't weird enough to be on the 366 Weird Movie list that I usually draw from. I thought it was worth diverging from the list to spread awareness of what I think is a brilliant and fascinating film.

I also hope to foster interest in Iranian cinema in general, which can provide a very important counterpoint to the typical Western conception of Iran. The Iranian films I've seen are very far from the dull propaganda for fundamentalist ideology that you might expect. Instead, they are complex, gently humorous, and often fascinatingly "meta" stories of compassion and empathy for ordinary people and their daily struggles. I believe Iranian films give the world a glimpse of the majority of the Iranian people, who are nothing like the fanatics who run the government (as of this writing, anyway).

Watch "Close-Up" on your own and come ready to chat about it. As of this writing, it's available on the Criterion Channel, and you can rent it through the usual channels: Close-Up streaming: where to watch movie online?

We'll meet at Pryes Brewing, which has lots of space and isn't very noisy. It's near downtown Minneapolis but has plenty of parking. I'll get there around 6:30 p.m. and claim a table on the opposite side of the bar. Get a drink and then head to the other end of the building, to one of the long tables near the risers. It's quietest there and there will hopefully be a long table free (though we might have to move around at least once to find enough space). You'll be able to identify me by my black baseball cap that says "Weird Movie Club" on it.

And feel free to sitemail me to recommend another movie for a future meeting. You can go by the official list from the website 366 Weird Movies (366 Weird Movies + Apocrypha: streaming info last updated 5/24/21 - Google Sheets) or suggest something else.