Fiction Criticizing Reality: Abbas Kiarostami and the Cracked Windshield of Cinema

Abstract

This article argues that Abbas Kiarostami uses documentaries and fiction films to examine the distinction between reality and fiction. Through the use of an arthouse style of filmmaking, the insertion of a surrogate director into the narrative and a recurring breakdown in technology, Kiarostami demonstrates that film’s ability to capture reality is a flawed, sometimes broken, endeavor.

Keywords

• Documentary, Reality, Cinema, Abbas Kiarostami, Fiction, Close-Up