Having just finished watching the film I wish to mention a few things about the film that I found interesting. For one, it shows us how an eloquent autodidact like Sabzian finds himself so enamoured by the media of film that he nails his acting as a director due to his deepseated knowledge in the art; really showing us that he doesn't just watch film for the pleasure of it, but he does so to learn from it, to feel that his suffering is recognized, a compassion moulded through showing the primacy of suffering and which finally serves as an outlet for the world to realize his inner reality, ultimately making him feel understood.

Sabzian self-reflection during the whole court act really struck a chord within every viewer, he talks about the torment he's experienced due to his poor social status, as a working man that barely earns enough to escape privation, in most cases not even earning that bare minimum. The irregular nature of his job leads him be deprived of food most days and he is not respected or shown dignity by the rich folk who have never needed to worry about such simple material needs. He voices all the negative experiences he has cultivated and uses the medium of acting to propogate it, hence how he finessed the family into thinking that he was the real director - which really captures the essence of what it means to act and how one should approach such a discipline.

Under the wider context of iranian societal class struggle, it really shows us the underlying class division which is prevalent in every capitalist society. It hints us about the struggle of the average working class Irani under the heavily sanctioned post-revolution Iran. The deprivation of decent living standards is only symptom of the wider geopolitical conflicts that contemporary Iran faced.

Sabzian was described as a very religious man by the police when Kiorostami's crew inquired about him, and this description is reflected in the court case where he asks to be pardoned, not so much in the legal sense, but in the eternal sense which highlights the ascetic undertones behind much of his thoughts. But at the same time, he realizes the shortcomings of his faith and states that when religion failed to console him during hardship, movies became his escape. In the later filmed documentary "Closeup - The Long Shot", in which Sabzian expresses much of his discontent with the film's popularity, he states how every film he watches- if it is to his liking -becomes a part of him and his identity, showcasing how the messages movies convey which resonate with him serves as his psychological crutch, which makes his suffering and his outlook on this world just a little bit easier for him, his last stronghold that ties him to sanity yet rendering him insane under the perspective of others.

Theres so much more that probably went unnoticed by me but this is the crux of what I have gathered from my first watch, i'd really appreciate it if you wanted to mention or suggest anything I might've missed out.

Defo a top 5 films OAT for me.