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Author Topic: Certified Copy  (Read 11655 times)

FroHam X

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #20 on: August 10, 2011, 10:39:11 AM »
Can I just say, I loved that bit. It was so heartbreaking.
It was the point that decided for me this wasn't a real relationship. In fact I would say Binoche was playing it for real and he wasn't. If that sounds confused and conflicted then I think that's what was being aimed at. When you add the art aspects I think this film is trying very hard to be clever.

Interesting, I didn't pick up on the "trying to be clever" bit at all. To me it just spoke to how sad it is for a couple to have so fallen out of love that they have forgotten where it all began. And I found that powerful and moving whether it was all real or fake.

See, that's the real brilliance of the copy vs. fake issue. In the end it's not important. What matters from scene to scene in this film is not whether they are actually married, but that we are seeing a very "true" depiction of two people who can no longer connect with each other after years of marriage. In the end they are a couple playing at something that is no longer there, even if it was never actually there to start with.
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1SO

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2011, 11:24:10 AM »
@sdedalus. Sorry for the quick dismissal of what you found fascinating. I like the idea, but I found that once it was presented in the beginning there wasn't much more to it. It reminded me of how every movie set in a college always has a classroom scene at the beginning (usually it's Scene 4) where the professor explicitly states the movie's theme. We get it again with that painting that was actually a copy of the real painting, and I liked that scene.

It does nothing for me when applied to the couple, and maybe that's because we are watching actors play this couple, just like in many other films. Had Binoche's husband actually been played by Binoche's husband, then it would've clicked for me. But we accept on-screen couples as actors playing a part. Make this movie with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman where they talk about real events and when Uma mentions how this movie is like those movies Ethan made with Julie Delpy... NOW I have something to ponder. That would be the meta-commentary on cinema that you found and I didn't.

Lobby reminded me of another reason why I think we're in the moment at all times. In the cafe, Binoche knows English and Italian, but says that her husband only speak English. A little later, he is speaking French (I think he does both) which is intriguing to "the game". I saw it as him only knowing English when they first got married, but he learned French over the years.

FroHam, I liked your words about a couple putting on a forgery when they are out in public. I didn't think about it during the movie. It's a huge difference that Scenes From a Marriage plays everything in private and here it's all out in public. Pat yourself on the back for pointing that out. For the record I was never bored by the film. I just didn't find the conversation nearly as interesting as in the other two films I keep bringing up.

FroHam X

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #22 on: August 10, 2011, 11:52:15 AM »
I am patting myself on the back now.

I'd rate Certified Copy below Before Sunrise/Sunset, but only because those two films offered a much more visceral reaction from me. Not sure why I value that more, but I do. I did have an immediate emotional reaction to Certified Copy, but it was much more subdued and much more intellectualized. I'd maybe say that Certified Copy is the more complex film of the three, but that Sunrise/Sunset are a bit better in terms of structuring their narratives to maximize the effect of their slightly more straightforward themes.

I haven't seen Scenes From a Marriage, but I plan to.
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Lobby

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #23 on: August 10, 2011, 01:45:50 PM »
Fro, I love your love for the movie, even if I didn't share it myself.

Basically I love the discussion about it. It's fascinating how a movie that I found so boring
and unengaging can come alive once you sit down and start talking about it, so long after I saw it.

I hadn't yet found my home at Filmspotting when I saw it earlier this year, so I watched it on my own, grumbled a little to myself afterwards about feeling stupid not "getting" it, and then I decided to forget and move on.  New movies would come, happier days would wait around the corner.

It's quite amazing how much it adds to the experience, even long after you've seen a movie, if you just have someone to talk to and exchange ideas with.
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FroHam X

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #24 on: August 10, 2011, 02:05:24 PM »
Lobby, that right there is why I will always prefer the discussion on this forum to simply writing/reading reviews.
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Lobby

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #25 on: August 10, 2011, 02:10:29 PM »
It's not one thing or another I think. It's both. Good reviews spark intresting discussions. It's a nice spot to take off from.
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1SO

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #26 on: August 10, 2011, 03:05:00 PM »
Good reviews spark intresting discussions. It's a nice spot to take off from.
This is why me and the Hamster work well together. I provide the perspective and he tells me how I'm wrong.

Totoro

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Re: Certified Copy
« Reply #27 on: January 03, 2012, 11:59:28 PM »
I need to see this again. It's on instant, everyone!

Also, read this:

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/love-streams-abbas-kiarostamis-certified-copy

Unveils another layer for me on the film.  :)

crunchewy

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Certified Copy - somebody explain it to me (spoilers?)
« Reply #28 on: January 05, 2012, 10:44:54 AM »
My wife and I watched this last night as part of my 2012 resolution to watch all the Golden Brick nominees. We had seen Meek's Cutoff in the theater a while back, so I've got 9 movies to watch. We both liked Meek's Cutoff a lot. Anyway, as for this movie... it was pretty surreal as it went on and it kept my attention even though it was slow paced (tedious?) and very talky... but I must admit that when all was said and done, I didn't really get it. I mean I did understand that the main character becomes a copy of (perhaps of an imaginary?) husband, or something, but I'm not really sure what it was all supposed to add up to, if anything. I just felt like I was watching stuff happen, but it wasn't going anywhere. I presume I'm totally missing the point, and would love to have somebody explain this film to me. :)

mañana

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Re: Certified Copy - somebody explain it to me (spoilers?)
« Reply #29 on: January 05, 2012, 11:08:24 AM »
There's some discussion here that might interest you. Also, there are probably some reviews scattered in the "Respond to..." thread, though we sadly don't have much of a search function right now.
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