Closed Curtain
| Closed Curtain | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
Jafar Panahi Kambuzia Partovi |
| Produced by | Jafar Panahi Hadi Saeedi |
| Written by | Jafar Panahi |
| Starring | Kambuzia Partovi Maryam Moqadam Jafar Panahi |
| Cinematography | Mohamad Reza Jahanpanah |
| Edited by | Jafar Panahi |
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Production
company |
Jafar Panahi Film Productions
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Release date
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Running time
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106 minutes |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | Persian |
| Box office | $27,091 |
Closed Curtain (Persian: Pardeh – پرده) is a 2013 Iranian docufiction film by Jafar Panahi and Kambuzia Partovi. It premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2013 where Panahi won the Silver Bear for Best Script. It was shot secretly at Panahi's own beachfront villa on the Caspian Sea. Panahi stated that he began shooting the film in a state of melancholy but managed to recover by the film's completion. Closed Curtain is Panahi's second film since his 20-year ban on filmmaking after 2011's This Is Not a Film.
The film was selected as the closing film of the 2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival.
An unnamed screenwriter (Kambozia Partovi) arrives at a secluded three-story villa on the Caspian Sea. He secretly brings along his pet dog named "Boy". Dogs are considered unclean under Islamic rule and the writer intends to hide "Boy" from authorities as he tries to get some writing done. The writer shaves his head to disguise his identity and covers all the windows in the villa with black, opaque material.
One night during a thunderstorm Melika (Maryam Moqadam) and her brother Reza (Hadi Saeedi) break into the villa. They tell the writer that they have fled from an illegal beach party in which alcohol was consumed and are hiding from the police. The writer demands that they leave, but Reza states that his sister is suicidal and then leaves Melika there while he looks for a car.
The presence of Melika begins to unsettle the writer. Melika speaks to the writer cryptically and theatrically, often lying and demanding to know about personal details from the writer's life. The writer becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to suspect Melika of being a police spy. Melika wants to open the curtains against the writers protests. Melika suddenly vanishes and the writer is left alone. When he hears the back patio door smashed open, the writer and "Boy" hide and listen to the sounds of the house being ransacked by thieves.
The film abruptly changes and becomes more surrealistic when film director Jafar Panahi and other film crew members appear in the villa, with the entire film up to that point having been fictitious. Panahi is seen in everyday situations, such as eating, talking to workers who repair the patio window and interacting with friends. Characters from earlier in the film begin to haunt Panahi, especially Melika. Melika leaves the villa and goes into the water. Panahi follows her there, but the film is suddenly rewound and he finds himself in the villa again. On a cell phone he looks at pictures of filming in the house, showing the writer as he first meets Melika and Reza. At the end of the film Panahi leaves the villa as Melika looks on.
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