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This is Not a Film

This is Not a Film

2011
Documentary
1h 15m
It's been months since Jafar Panahi, stuck in jail, has been awaiting a verdict by the appeals court. By depicting a day in his life, Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb try to portray the deprivations looming in contemporary Iranian cinema. (imdb)
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This is Not a Film

2011
Documentary
1h 15m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 64.15% from 408 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(408)
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Rated 16 Jan 2013
80
91st
Ironically, this (non) film, by simply (not) existing, may very well have a greater and more enduring impact than any film that Panahi has made to this point. That it is even watchable, let alone so compelling, is a testament to Panahi's status as both an auteur and fascinating individual subject.
Rated 16 Mar 2013
72
81st
As much as anything else, an exploration of the use of various mnemo-technical instruments as critical and political weapons. For this reason alone, this document is significant, perhaps less for what it says about the Iranian government than for what it suggests about what art or cinema has mostly failed to be, and what perhaps it needs to become, not just “there” but “here”. For this to occur, however, requires not just the desperate energy produced by some looming conflagration, but courage.
Rated 19 Feb 2013
7
94th
don't let the air of wry resignation fool you; panahi is an animal scaling the walls of his cage, his passion far from smothered by ever-contracting boundaries. as NYE fireworks are re-contextualised as the frightening booms of a dystopia oppressed by faceless authoritarian forces, he blazes with the insistence that dual concepts of cinema and freedom are inseparable. the final shot is both an affirmation of the artistic capacity of the medium, and a sobering reminder of what it's up against.
Rated 04 Mar 2013
90
80th
A film about what it means to be an artist, to have creativity that cannot be stifled and to be so dedicated to your art that absolutely nothing can stop you from making it. A must-see.
Rated 30 Nov 2012
80
80th
It's particularly exciting to get to see an inventive underground work like This Is Not a Film in the wake of Iran's first-ever Oscar win for Asghar Farhadi's great film "A Separation." It's becoming clear that the blossoming of Iranian cinema, which has been going on now for at least 20 years, is too strong a force for the government censors to contain.
Rated 02 Apr 2013
85
85th
Few films constitute political rebellion simply for existing but Jafar Panahi's mischievous and plaintive video is an act of protest every second of its duration. Taped while under house arrest with the help of a colleague, Panahi attempts to stage a banned screenplay, analyzes how he directed the amateur actors in his other films, refuses to babysit a neighbor's dog, takes calls from family, friends & co-workers and follows a trash man out into the streets of the city, full of fire & fireworks.
Rated 14 Dec 2012
83
90th
And outside, the streets are on fire. "Stay here so they don't see the camera."
Rated 10 May 2020
80
89th
The final 15 minutes of this film (or 'not a film' as the case may be) in which Panahi rides in an elevator with a man collecting rubbish is astoundingly captivating. As are the scenes in which Panahi slowly makes coffee and communes with his Iguana. A film full of such moments. To spend some time with Panahi within his home while he reflects on film making and the nation of Iran is a pleasure. Self-conscious film making done very well.
Rated 21 May 2017
77
55th
Intriguing film. Primitively muses over how making a film through a phone is very much possible, which is of confusion to Panahi and his filmmaking restrictions. A homely film that doesn't seem to probe too much into the political situation Panahi is in (unlike in his later illegal effort Taxi), but this is more a film of mood. Look out, contains spoilers to his previous films, namely The Mirror.
Rated 30 Dec 2012
78
54th
There's a sort of surrealism in its realism, a documentary about waiting and inaction that challenges that frustration while remaining mostly inert. It's a film with no direct purpose, yet its mere existence gives it a very weighty purpose. Panahi is an interesting guy, his situation makes him sympathetic, and the contrast between the oppressiveness of the situation he finds himself in with the aesthetic attractiveness of his immediate surroundings makes for an interesting hook.
Rated 26 Feb 2014
80
68th
Surprisingly watchable, though some of the early, deliberately mundane scenes aren't exactly scintillating. I absolutely loved the last act though, especially the adventure down the elevator into the street. It really feels like a Panahi film by that point. I suspect most of this was more scripted than it seems, and I think that's wonderful.
Rated 25 Dec 2013
81
55th
panahi is clearly very passionate about filmmaking and he's likeable on camera. it's heartbreaking to see how passionate he is about making films and how much it's killing him that he can't. it's also impressive to see that with all the restrictions against him, panahi still managed to make a name for himself on the world stage. the film, in all it's simplicity was heartbreaking, flecked with bits of humour which somehow made it even sadder, but at times felt a bit contrived and self-involved.
Rated 14 Apr 2024
51
60th
Rated 28 Aug 2014
90
84th
Sterk dokumentar om film og sensur. Hvilke muligheter har man til å uttrykke seg i de tilfellene der staten styrer hva du kan si og hvor du kan si det? Panahi har tidligere laget en av favorittfilmene mine med Ayneh, og selv om denne er annerledes er det tydelig at det er samme fyr som står bak. Ja, den gir seg ut for å være en dokumentar, men noe sier meg at mye her er scriptet. Det er for eksempel ikke tilfeldig at den ene synlige filmen i DVD-samlingen hans er Buried. Krever gjensyn.
Rated 18 Feb 2016
17
93rd
Star Rating: ★★★★1/2
Rated 16 Apr 2013
89
82nd
I was a bit bored at the beginning when he was actually trying to read/act his screenplay. But the film pleasantly surprised me. I really enjoyed the conversations with Igi, Mirtahmasb, and especially the custodian at the end.
Rated 17 Jul 2023
88
0th
s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피 s리얼돌체험⥩【오피쓰】⥩ opssO7ᴥCOM 천안오피 천안안마⁺천안건마 천안오피
Rated 27 Oct 2011
80
85th
Panahi depicts his domestic prison while the city is on fire out there: he can't do his next film and he reads its script and tries hard to show how he would shoot it -- if he could set things right. Powerful footage.
Rated 28 Nov 2020
60
12th
No la termine de ver
Rated 17 Nov 2021
92
91st
Isto Não É um Filme estreava há 10 anos no Festival Cinemanila. Agora, esse é um aspecto visceral de se fazer filmes: pulsão de vida. DVDRip no MakingOff.
Rated 10 Dec 2011
35
90th
"In its way, this effort is both a forceful assertion of the most stifling brand of auteurism and a radical reconfiguration of its political potential." - Phil Coldiron
Rated 25 Sep 2015
80
72nd
A fine act of nonviolent protest and one that works great with loopholes of the law
Rated 16 Jun 2014
68
70th
What does one of the most brilliant filmmakers of his generation do when facing a sentence of several years in prison and a twenty year ban on making films? With the help of a cameraman, he tries to be as sneaky as possible about making a film on the subject of not being allowed to make one. Reading one of his scripts to the camera proves tragically ineffective, but when a neighbor walks in and Panahi starts recording him with his phone, it's apparent that he's pushing his luck.
Rated 25 Dec 2012
60
37th
the novelty of just being able to see this goes a long way, and I get the importance! But if this is the iranian films we get to see, I guess the terrorists have won ? just cause you know something is important and extremely relevant, doesnt mean you have to like it.
Rated 29 Jun 2012
7
68th
The scenes where he explained his last script dragged on for me, but, otherwise, This is Not a Film was a great depiction of Panahi's prison. The last 10 minutes, credits included, of the film were especially powerful. Iguana enthusiasts are also welcome, by the way.
Rated 30 Jun 2012
51
39th
indeed
Rated 06 Mar 2013
89
87th
Presenting a tragedy for those who love art, but also a window into the mind of one of the world's great cinematic artists, Panahi's (not) film flies by at a brisk 78 minutes. To listen to the man describe recent ideas for films, one cannot help but be grieved for him, and grieved for the world's loss of his work. Visually, the film highlights the limitations of cinema in Iran through Panahi's specific circumstances, the ornate walls of his home akin to prison walls.
Rated 10 Jan 2013
98
89th
harika bir yapimdi gercekten yasamin ne kadar ilginc ve ne garip isteklerle dolu oldugunu gosteriyor, adamlarin tek istegi film ve bu YASAk !

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