Well, actually, it is a film. And an intriguing one at that. I'll grant that it is not a normal one though.
Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director of some repute. I haven't seen any of his films, nor had I ever heard of him before watching "This is Not a Film", though upon checking out his CV, a number of them might be worth a look. Apparently his films pushed the envelope in terms of what was acceptable to the Iranian censors (one is about females being barred from soccer matches), and eventually the chickens came home to roost. In 2010, Iranian police raided his home and arrested him, under charges of making propaganda against the state. While he was awaiting sentencing, he was placed under house arrest. Taking place over a ten-day period in March of last year, the "This is Not a Film" documents Panahi's days under house arrest . Despite being barred from film-making during this period, the documentary was smuggled out of Iran, on a USB hidden in a birthday cake, and found its way to the Cannes Film Festival.
"This is Not a Film", which is only an hour and fifteen minutes long, is shot almost exclusively in Panahi's spacious apartment (the final 10 minutes or so take place in an elevator, while he talks with the building custodian), using a shoulder-held camera (primarily with the help of one of Panahi's colleagues) and an iPhone. As you might imagine, its not the most pulse-pounding stuff, and many will find it slow. Much of the first half is taken up by Panahi making phone calls to lawyers, trying to get details on the status of his appeal and what sentence he might be facing, and reading from/acting out (he uses the carpet in his living as kind of a set) parts of the script he was working on at the time of his arrest. His daughter's pet iguana, Igi, does make a couple humorous cameos though. You can tell that Panahi, along with being frustrated by his situation, is also quite bored with it. He spends part of the documentary watching the news (including scenes from the tsunami that battered Japan), and watching/explaining clips from his previous films.
"This is Not a Film" has an interesting ending though. It is night-time, and from Panahi's balcony you can hear and see large quantities of fireworks going off, apparently in celebration of the Persian New Year. Panahi's assistant, holding the camera much of the time, states that he must leave, and when the two are at the door (Panahi now filming on his iPhone), the building's custodian, a young man and hopeful art student, is just emerging from the elevator. Panahi's partner first descends, then, now armed with his regular camera, Panahi goes down the elevator with the young man, interviewing him along the way, making stops at every floor to collect trash.
Again, this probably doesn't sound like enthralling viewing, but I encourage people to see this film, if for no other reason as a form of protest against the Iranian regime/a show of solidarity with Panahi. However, there is still something captivating about "This is Not a Film" (the name of which, I understand, was inspired by the Rene Magritte painting "La trahison des image" (the treachery of images) ), and watching this artist struggle with life under forced isolation. I suppose, from a personal angle, I am very much interested in Iran, and any chance and a glimpse of life in that country, even if it is only a brief view from a high-rise balcony, or just the inside of a wealthy man's apartment, is still worth taking. I will also say that the very last part of the documentary, when he is interviewing the young custodian, is worth watching the film alone, as it gives a more personal and human touch to a country many of us will probably never be able to visit.Having said that though, anyone who appreciates the art of film-making should probably taking the hour and a quarter and watch this film, because is most certainly still is a film.
Verdict: See it. Grade: B+
(In place of the usual "If you liked this movie", I'll just state here that Jafar Panahi was eventually sentenced to jail for six years, and barred from any film-making activities, including giving interviews, for twenty years).
Also, a couple new additions to the film review section. Since I am now only doing foreign films, many of them quite obscure, I will post the trailer, whenever available. So, here you have the trailer for "This is Not a Film":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgZy00svH08
Also, to make things more interesting, I figured a couple of screenshots from each film wouldn't hurt:
Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director of some repute. I haven't seen any of his films, nor had I ever heard of him before watching "This is Not a Film", though upon checking out his CV, a number of them might be worth a look. Apparently his films pushed the envelope in terms of what was acceptable to the Iranian censors (one is about females being barred from soccer matches), and eventually the chickens came home to roost. In 2010, Iranian police raided his home and arrested him, under charges of making propaganda against the state. While he was awaiting sentencing, he was placed under house arrest. Taking place over a ten-day period in March of last year, the "This is Not a Film" documents Panahi's days under house arrest . Despite being barred from film-making during this period, the documentary was smuggled out of Iran, on a USB hidden in a birthday cake, and found its way to the Cannes Film Festival.
"This is Not a Film", which is only an hour and fifteen minutes long, is shot almost exclusively in Panahi's spacious apartment (the final 10 minutes or so take place in an elevator, while he talks with the building custodian), using a shoulder-held camera (primarily with the help of one of Panahi's colleagues) and an iPhone. As you might imagine, its not the most pulse-pounding stuff, and many will find it slow. Much of the first half is taken up by Panahi making phone calls to lawyers, trying to get details on the status of his appeal and what sentence he might be facing, and reading from/acting out (he uses the carpet in his living as kind of a set) parts of the script he was working on at the time of his arrest. His daughter's pet iguana, Igi, does make a couple humorous cameos though. You can tell that Panahi, along with being frustrated by his situation, is also quite bored with it. He spends part of the documentary watching the news (including scenes from the tsunami that battered Japan), and watching/explaining clips from his previous films.
"This is Not a Film" has an interesting ending though. It is night-time, and from Panahi's balcony you can hear and see large quantities of fireworks going off, apparently in celebration of the Persian New Year. Panahi's assistant, holding the camera much of the time, states that he must leave, and when the two are at the door (Panahi now filming on his iPhone), the building's custodian, a young man and hopeful art student, is just emerging from the elevator. Panahi's partner first descends, then, now armed with his regular camera, Panahi goes down the elevator with the young man, interviewing him along the way, making stops at every floor to collect trash.
Again, this probably doesn't sound like enthralling viewing, but I encourage people to see this film, if for no other reason as a form of protest against the Iranian regime/a show of solidarity with Panahi. However, there is still something captivating about "This is Not a Film" (the name of which, I understand, was inspired by the Rene Magritte painting "La trahison des image" (the treachery of images) ), and watching this artist struggle with life under forced isolation. I suppose, from a personal angle, I am very much interested in Iran, and any chance and a glimpse of life in that country, even if it is only a brief view from a high-rise balcony, or just the inside of a wealthy man's apartment, is still worth taking. I will also say that the very last part of the documentary, when he is interviewing the young custodian, is worth watching the film alone, as it gives a more personal and human touch to a country many of us will probably never be able to visit.Having said that though, anyone who appreciates the art of film-making should probably taking the hour and a quarter and watch this film, because is most certainly still is a film.
Verdict: See it. Grade: B+
(In place of the usual "If you liked this movie", I'll just state here that Jafar Panahi was eventually sentenced to jail for six years, and barred from any film-making activities, including giving interviews, for twenty years).
Also, a couple new additions to the film review section. Since I am now only doing foreign films, many of them quite obscure, I will post the trailer, whenever available. So, here you have the trailer for "This is Not a Film":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgZy00svH08
Also, to make things more interesting, I figured a couple of screenshots from each film wouldn't hurt:
Panahi contemplates his situation while taking a smoke break on the balcony.
Igi interrupts proceedings.
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