Certified Copy

Nicole Cherubini, André Hemer, Matvey Levenstein, Al Svoboda, Tim Wilson

In Abbas Kiarostami's 2010 film Certified Copy, a writer and a stranger spend an afternoon in Tuscany moving between the roles of acquaintances, then lovers, then estranged spouses. The film never confirms whether they have a history or are inventing one as they go—whether what we are watching is the real thing or a very convincing facsimile. Objects, places, and gestures accumulate meaning as the afternoon unfolds, fam…