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This Is Not a Film (2011)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 8.8/10
Reviews Counted: 69
Fresh: 69 | Rotten: 0

Through simple means and filming, This is Not a Film presents a vital political statement and a snapshot of life in Iran as enemy of the state.

100

Average Rating: 9/10
Critic Reviews: 21
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 0

Through simple means and filming, This is Not a Film presents a vital political statement and a snapshot of life in Iran as enemy of the state.

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 4,010

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Movie Info

This clandestine documentary, shot partially on an iPhone and smuggled into France in a cake for a last-minute submission to Cannes, depicts the day-to-day life of acclaimed director Jafar Panahi (Offside, The Circle) during his house arrest in his Tehran apartment. While appealing his sentence - six years in prison and a 20 year ban from filmmaking - Panahi is seen talking to his family and lawyer on the phone, discussing his plight with Mirtahmasb and reflecting on the meaning of the art of filmmaking. -- (C) Palisades Tartan

Unrated, 1 hr. 15 min.

Documentary, Art House & International, Special Interest

Directed By: Jafar Panahi , Mojtaba Mirtahmasb

Written By: Jafar Panahi

In Theaters: Feb 29, 2012 Limited

Box Office:$30.5k

Palisades Tartan

This Is Not a Film Trailer & Photos

More Photos (8)

Cast

Jafar Panahi
Jafar Panahi
Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
Mojtaba Mirtahmasb

Critic Reviews for This Is Not a Film

All Critics (69) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (0)

In short, "This Is Not a Film" is the world within an apartment, and it is quietly devastating.

May 3, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Globe

| Comment

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Top Critic

It's a statement about courage, a poke in the eye of political oppression.

April 12, 2012 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

| Comment

Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

I would like to show "This Is Not a Film" to those in the United States who are in favor of a close union of church and state.

April 12, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comments (6)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

An act of political defiance, a moving personal document and a meditation on what film is and can be.

April 5, 2012 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

There are fireworks -- and an ending that's as dramatic as anything made by any director making a film, which is something Panahi accomplishes with a bit of a wink, and no small amount of courage.

March 9, 2012 Full Review Source: Newsday

| Comment

John Anderson

Newsday

Top Critic

The triumph of This Is Not a Film is not only an artistic one -- the very existence of this movie is a gift. No wonder it came to us in a cake.

March 2, 2012 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comments (2)

Dana Stevens

Slate

Top Critic

What constitutes imprisonment and what constitutes a film?

May 4, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Herald

| Comment (1)

James Verniere

Boston Herald

[A] courageous act of artistic provocation...

May 3, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix

| Comment

Gerald Peary

Boston Phoenix

Panahi creates a very personal film that reveals the inner man. His pet iguana, Igi, is pretty cool, too.

April 26, 2012 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews

| Comment

Robin Clifford

Reeling Reviews

...never settles down - it's as restless as its house arrested protagonist and a compelling and often humorous look at a day in the life of an auteur with his wings clipped.

April 25, 2012 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews

| Comment

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

A snapshot of a filmmaker in exile, yes, but also a poignant portrait of a country under a repressive regime and a compelling manifesto on the perseverance of art.

April 23, 2012 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine

| Comment

Annlee Ellingson

Paste Magazine

...a political act, of course, but that's not the most interesting thing about it.

April 18, 2012 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm

| Comment

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

The right thing to do would be to give a thumbs up to "Film" just to spread the word. But here's another reason - it's a fascinating film.

April 13, 2012 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI)

| Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

It may not be what one might normally describe as a "film" but whatever it is that one might call it, "This is Not a Film" is an absolute must-see.

April 12, 2012 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Peter Sobczynski

eFilmCritic.com

The more "This Is Not a Film" underscores the cruel containment of a great artist, the more we actually become aware - very indirectly, in a very Panahi fashion - of a city in chaos outside, with sounds of gunfire and distant street blazes.

April 12, 2012 Full Review Source: Seattle Times

| Comment

Tom Keogh

Seattle Times

This is an important film, a valuable insight into contemporary Iran and the challenges facing their artistic communities.

April 12, 2012 Full Review Source: The List

| Comment

Gail Tolley

The List

The film is never directly confrontational - it certainly eschews diatribes against the current regime - but its point about repressing the natural urge to tell stories is forcefully made.

April 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Scotsman

| Comment

Scotsman

It's a true rebel film, full of outrage and defiance, but it's also an intensely personal and moving portrait of a trapped, tragic figure, just like many of Panahi's own best characters.

April 6, 2012 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

What it all adds up to is a ruefully witty essay on what does or does not constitute cinema: Jean-Luc Godard grapples endlessly (some would say incomprehensibly) with these debates, but Panahi's invigorating directness cuts to the chase.

March 30, 2012 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph

| Comment

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph

Nobody is likely to confuse This Is Not a Film with mainstream entertainment. But it is more fun than the vast majority of multiplex screensavers.

March 30, 2012 Full Review Source: Irish Times

| Comment

Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Panahi's two principal themes - film theory and (inevitably) 'domestic' politics - coalesce into one as his own cloistered status finds its mirror in a personal filmography that has become more and more constrained.

March 30, 2012 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Anton Bitel

Film4

A film which only reveals its true colours after intense contemplation.

March 29, 2012 Full Review Source: Little White Lies

| Comment

David Jenkins

Little White Lies

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for This Is Not a Film

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It certainly is not a film; it's a rip-off. Charging $13 for "This Is Not a Film," a one-hour short almost devoid of content, is highway robbery. This is one of the few times in my life when I felt the theater owed me a refund. I really resented being charged $13 for this. I was excited when I first heard about this

March 7, 2012

William Dunmyer

Super Reviewer

This is as a fascinating bit of minimalism as there has been in quite a long time, not only for its insights into the state of censorship in Iran(from what I can infer, Jafar Panahi's arrest sounds like something out of "Hawaii 5-0,") but for its symbolism in capturing a day in the life of Jafar Panahi, trapped inside

March 11, 2012

Walter M.

Super Reviewer

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