Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

GazerRise Fantastic!

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Sergeant_Tibbs I have not seen any of Jafar Panahi's films. I've heard of Crimson Gold through the iconic image on the DVD cover but otherwise I'm not aware of his style. This Is Not A Film would be a great introduction as the filmmaker himself compares how he feels to the characters he created 10 years prior and analyses his own style of filmmaking. As someone who is interested in making films, this is a really fascinating documentary. Essentially a home video turned into a film, where its shown in the film itself when they decided to turn it into a film, it unintentionally breaks down storytelling and storytelling methods as Panahi demonstrates a film idea he has in a pitch like process to the point where he questions why we even need the medium of film. The raw emotion in this doc is compelling despite the fact not a lot happens within its 77 minute running time. In the end, you come to know Panahi and his culture more intimately and it's fascinating how his unintentional documentary style is similar to his fiction filmmaking style, especially with an ending that makes your heart skip a beat. I'll contradict the title, this is one hell of a film.8/10

Dave Lucas This Is Not a Film - This movie definitely gets the "most interesting back-story" award for the year. Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi was punished for producing films that the government of his home land found objectionable with a sentence of six years in jail and a twenty year ban on the writing, directing, and/or production of films. While at home on bail awaiting the ruling of the appeals court, he began looking for ways around this. He already had one unproduced screenplay that he had written before the ban, which technically did not him from acting or reading screenplays that were already completed. He invited a friend who was a camera man over to tape him reading from (and to some extent, acting out) said screenplay. Technically, he was not disobeying the court order and technically "This (Was) Not a Film". Of course, these technicalities did not deter the film maker from cautiously smuggling the picture out of the country in a birthday cake before its release on the film festival circuit.What starts out as a mere reading of the completed script ends up being a meditation on art, film-making, Iranian culture, and many other things. For fans of the director, it is an intriguing look into the mind of a master of his craft. For general audiences, it may be a little dry. I found it to be not only an interesting look into Panahi's thought processes, but into the plight of a film maker who loves his people but finds the constraints pf the oppressive government that rules them to be too constricting to allow the artistic process to flourish. Furthermore, it is a look into how any artist MUST struggle to express themselves no matter how difficult their current circumstances have made that task. If any of these themes sound particularly intriguing, by all means check the film out. If it doesn't sound like your particular cup of tea...as I said, a little dry...4 out of 5 stars.Review brought to you by www.TheMovieFrog.com - Check us Out!!!

gregwetherall Covering a day in the life of a man awaiting verdict from the Appeals court in Iran comes a documentary with a very specific purpose; to showcase the suffocating force exerted by the Iranian government on the artistic community.Film-maker Jafar Panahi is under house arrest. His crime? "Propaganda against the regime". Sounding positively Orwellian, his sentence is 6 years in prison, a 20 year ban on making films and a 20 year ban on leaving the country. Understandably, he is frustrated, worried and angry with, and at, the political system. Being forbidden to make the film he planned on making, he uses the time in his apartment to lay out the bare bones of his latest screenplay.This documentary film, it is important to note, is not constructed under a conventional arc. It is openly improvised. You see a man unsure where to steer the piece as it moves along. He is uncertain if anyone will ever set their eyes on what he is filming, and the lack of certainty hangs over the documentary like an ominous invisible cloud. However, amongst all of this are some surreal moments. There is frequent footage of his pet iguana and his escapades within the confines of the apartment. This footage allows for some light to creep in amongst the varying shades of sombre. Generally speaking, this is an exercise in seeing a film maker stripped of the fourth wall, and in its place, an ordinary person performing creatively within their own four walls. Ironically, the most dramatic aspect of the film is one that does not form part of what we see, and is not even added as a post-script; the film had to be smuggled out of Iran on a memory card that was hidden inside a cake.Thanks to the surreptitious nature of the film's construction and export, This Is Not A Film could not be any more accurate to its title. It is the epitome of a document that is oxymoronic; the film has a very specific purpose and reason to exist, yet it also plays out with no narrative sense of purpose in any conventional sense.Arguably, the most compelling facet of the documentary is in the understanding of the context in which it was made.Criticism of this film is hard to level, hence the non-rating that heads this review. Bizarrely, despite containing no linear narrative, no talking heads and no interviews, it still stands as a fascinating window peek into a government that is terrifying, petrifying, anaesthetising and nullifying the proletariat. There is no fancy camera work, and the lack of focus means that it would be hard to recommend this film as being one for repeat viewings.Yet still, it is something that needs to be seen. In fact, it commands to be seen. It is a brave feat and endeavour. It is engrossing because the viewer is left to marvel at how it made its way to our screens at all. It is a contemporaneous note on present day Iran and a call to the wider world. A cry for freedom and the purity of free expression. It highlights the extent to which civil liberties have been robbed and denied from the creative industries by the state. The real victim is freedom of speech. Freedom of expression. It is a news bulletin without filter.for more film reviews: toomuchnoiseblog.com (@toomuch_noise) and www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-wetherall

manendra-lodhi This is not a film and also not a documentary in a proper sense. This is a Video recording of two persons. But the good part is that within the few minutes you will understand why this film had to be made. A person cannot stop his talent for longer. This is happening with Jafar Panahi, the Iranian director who is fighting with his government. He has to stay inside his house without making films and he might go to jail. In the middle you might feel a little bored because of no change in location but eventually you will understand his limitations and the desperation which caused him to make this.PROS: The film is slow but to some extend you will want to forgive for everything. He tries to make the documentary interesting by telling some of his previous films experiences and those are really amazing. His pet will keep you alive all the time. In few words, I would say that this is one of the best documentaries.CONS: Got a little bored in the middle.Message: "Don't stop because of obstructions." Verdict: "A must watch documentary."