Certified Copy   Starring: Juliette Binoche and William Shimell Artificial Eye RRP: £15.99 ART512DVD Certificate: 12 Available 17 January 2011

James Miller (William Shimell) an English writer, is in Tuscany to promote his new book. He meets an unidentified gallery owner (Juliette Binoche) who attends his lecture on the subject of art and the value of original works versus copies. The pair decides to embark upon a sightseeing journey through the picturesque Tuscan countryside. There, they are mistaken for a married couple and on the insistence of the woman they keep up the pretence. Soon enough, it becomes clear that there may be more to this relationship than meets the eye...

Certified Copy is a warm and touching movie which will make you reevaluate what you think is important in life. The film opens with Englishman James Miller giving a talk, in Tuscany, on his new book which has recently been translated into Italian. In the audience is a French antiques dealer who disagrees with a lot of issues Miller raises in his book. After the talk the two meet up and spend the day together - but this is not an easy relationship as the two seem oceans apart.

Stylistically writer/director Abbas Kiarostami has been extremely bold in his choices. Firstly he cast British opera singer William Shimell who has never acted in a movie before - a very brave move and thankfully one that pays off. And secondly the film is made up of long unbroken scenes which push acting skills to the limits. Most movies can turn an average actor into a great actor by some clever editing, but here Kiarostami almost treats the movie like a play. There are long, intricate scenes where any glimmer of poor acting would have come across rather embarrassingly. So it's a credit to Binoche and Shimell's acting skills that not once is the viewer reminded that they are merely watching a movie. You really do get caught up in there conversations.

How you view the characters will be subjective, but I instantly took a dislike to Shimmel's Miller. He is rude and abrasive when he doesn't need to be and he thinks his opinion is the only one that matters and he loves to have the last word... It was at this point it made me reflect, rather worryingly, on my own personality. Everyone will find a little of both characters in themselves and it's not a nice thing to have your ugliest traits laid before you.

I did have a few issues with this movie. Without spoiling the plot too much... if you rewatch the film then a lot of the early scenes between the couple don't really seem to make a lot of sense. But then this could be down to the simple fact that this is a subjective movie and one where you have to make up your own mind what is fantasy and what is reality. Is the reveal about their relationship real or are they true strangers playing out an elaborate fantasy?

Extras include The Making of Certified Copy (49 min, 56 sec the highlight here is Binoche's issues with the statue created for the movie. I have to say her points are valid. You don't see the statue that well in the movie, thanks to a technical error that makes it look like the male figure is urinating, but it's a rather sexist sculpture and nothing like the beautiful image that Binoche's character paints) and the movie's trailer.

This is a beautiful movie that is destined to become a classic.

9

Darren Rea