Love story
Not rated. 1 hour 44 minutes. At the Esquire.
Ordinarily, a new movie by Abbas Kiarostami (“Taste of Cherry”) would be an opportunity to remind readers that Iran produces some of the finest films in the world. But “Certified Copy” is Kiarostami in a European mode. It’s a trilingual love story between a British art historian and a French woman he meets in Italy. Or is it?
“Certified Copy” announces its theme in the opening scene, when author James Miller (William Shimell) delivers a lecture about counterfeit and copycat art. A late arrival is Elle (Juliette Binoche), who seems smitten with the author and buys six copies of his book, with a request that he visit her antique shop the next day.
They spend a get-acquainted afternoon driving through the Tuscan countryside to a museum with a famous reproduction. At a rustic cafe, a worldly wise old waitress mistakes them for a married couple and offers advice for rekindling their love. But then (spoiler alert!) Elle and James start bickering as if they really are married and this has been an elaborate exercise in starting over.
Although the film has elements of a puzzler, it never becomes compellingly intellectual or unnervingly emotional. Some loose ends are left unresolved, and the movie’s vague ending is likely to frustrate.
The pleasure of the film is in fishing for authentic feelings beneath the placid, mirrored surfaces. Binoche, who cycles from nervous flirtation to pained confrontation and back, confirms that she’s one of the world’s great actresses — in three languages, no less — while Shimell, who’s a celebrated opera singer, makes an aromatically cold fish.
“Certified Copy” promises more than it delivers, but the limited portions are fresh.
