Closed Curtain (2014)
81%RT Audience Score: 68%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 8 nominations
Closed Curtain, the second film in Jafar Panahi’s clandestine trilogy, is a self-reflexive essay on the struggles of artistic expression in a repressive society. While the film’s opaque and sombre tone may strain the patience of some viewers, it is still a powerful meditation on creativity and the blessing and curse of creative vision. Panahi’s ingenuity in making this film while under house arrest is a testament to his talent as a filmmaker. The film’s surreal melancholy and meta elements add to its complexity and make it a memorable and eloquent commentary on the constraints of authoritarian states on artistic expression.
Closed Curtain” is a film that’s so secretive, it makes the CIA look like a gossiping group of teenagers. Jafar Panahi’s ingenuity in making this film while under house arrest is impressive, but the movie itself is a mixed bag. Some moments are powerful and humorous, while others are indulgent and will test even the most patient viewer. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking meditation on creativity and the constraints of a repressive society, but don’t expect to leave the theater with a clear understanding of what just happened.
Production Company(ies)
Studio Ghibli, Dentsu Hakuhodo D Y Media, Partners
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Mazandaran Province, Iran
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Persian
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Country of origin:Iran
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jun 19, 2016
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Closed Curtain, drama, Persian language, Jafar Panahi, Kambuzia Partovi, directed by Jafar Panahi, written by Jafar Panahi, starring Kambozia Partovi, Maryam Moqadam, Hadi Saeedi, Azadh Torabi, Zeynab Khanum, produced by Jafar Panahi, box office gross $28.1K, reviewed by Mark Kermode, Ryan Gilbey, Donald Clarke, Bekzhan Sarsenbay, Kate Muir, Peter Bradshaw, Jeremy Polacek, Michael J Casey, Lucy Popescu, Steve Erickson, Michael Sicinski, drama about an artist’s despair, depression, suicide, creativity, repressive society, artistic expression, house arrest, clandestine filming, self-portraiture
Worldwide gross: $33,735
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $42,160
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,092
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,598
US/Canada gross: $28,098
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $35,115
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,776
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,002
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $6,251
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,785
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Maryam Moqadam – Melika
Jafar Panahi – Director, Writer
Hadi Saeedi – Reza
Azadh Torabi – Melika’s Sister
Zeynab Khanum – Self
Director(s)
Jafar Panahi, Kambuzia Partovi
Writer(s)
Jafar Panahi
Producer(s)
Jafar Panahi
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (4)
It’s a troubling piece that confronts both depression (suicide is a recurrent theme) and creativity.
September 7, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Closed Curtain is the most opaque and sombre of the pictures to have emerged so far from Panahi’s confinement.
September 4, 2015
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
The film intersperses moment of great humour and power with indulgent follies that will strain the patience of all but the most resilient viewers.
September 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
A powerful meditation on creativity.
September 3, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Bekzhan Sarsenbay
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Iranian director Jafar Panahi is under house arrest but, a testament to his ingenuity, Closed Curtain is the second in a trilogy of films shot clandestinely.
September 3, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Studiedly oblique and opaque, a self-reflexive essay about movie-making and artistic expression in a repressive society.
September 3, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Still bold, still thoughtful, still witty, still confined, Panahi has made a film on the blessing and curse of creative vision.
February 1, 2020
Jeremy Polacek
Hyperallergic
In Closed Curtain, Panahi finds the answer that he has been looking for all along.
June 22, 2019
Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
This is an eloquent and memorable film about an authoritarian state’s constraints on artistic expression.
April 6, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Lucy Popescu
CineVue
The ending of “Closed Curtain” has a disappointing lack of focus. Still, the initial mood of the film is indelible.
February 16, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Closed Curtain enfolds its politics within what I believe will go down as one of cinema’s finest, most complex acts of self-portraiture.
November 27, 2017
Michael Sicinski
Cinema Scope
There’s a pleasingly surreal melancholy to where the film goes, and then it all turns quite meta indeed.
September 1, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Josh Slater-Williams
The Skinny…
Plot
A reclusive writer reluctantly provides sanctuary for two siblings on the run from the police in Jafar Panahi’s semi-nonfiction drama, Closed Curtain.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about Closed Curtain, but it does mention that the film’s director, Jafar Panahi, is under house arrest and shot the film clandestinely.
Jafar-Panahi.jpg
