Pardé

In 2011, shortly after he was banned by the Iranian government from making movies for 20 years, Jafar Panahi pulled off the impossible with THIS IS NOT A FILM, a bold, diary-like production shot in the confines of his apartment. At first, CLOSED CURTAIN takes the form of a more conventional narrative, following the experiences of an apparent man on the lam (filmmaker and Panahi screenwriter Kamboziya Partovi), who arrives at an isolated beach house and hides himself from the world. Two other refugees come and go before Panahi himself quietly becomes a part of the story while hovering outside of it, his characters commenting on his loose control over their existence. Even as they fade from view, however, the director can’t shake them. A noticeably bigger production than THIS IS NOT A FILM, beautifully composed and patiently told within the confines of yet another restrictive set, CLOSED CURTAIN rigorously translates the literal despair of THIS IS NOT A FILM into pure symbolism. (Eric Kohn)