In 2011, Jafar Panahi was arrested in his country of Iran. Apparently, the film he was working on offended the wrong people and he was held, without charges, for some time before anyone was allowed to see him. All he knew is that it offended the regime and they decided to imprison him. Eventually, a trial was held and Panahi was sentenced to 6 years in prison as well as a 20 year ban on making movies or leaving the country. Exactly why still wasn't certain and there was an outcry from the international community. It didn't seem to have any effect and his appeal was rejected. He remains in prison today.
"This is Not a Film" was made just before Panahi went back to prison. What it consists of is a lot of raw and rambling footage. While Panahi talks a bit about his situation, he really doesn't get into discussing the regime nor his punishment. Instead, he does a lot of seemingly mundane things (the film begins with him eating breakfast) as well as blocking out and explaining what his film would have been--if he could have made it. Additionally, friends drop by and spend time with him and talk to the camera man. All this footage was smuggled out of Iran in a hidden flash drive and appears to have been unedited--just played out in its entirety.
From a political standpoint, "This is Not a Film" is intriguing. Your heart really has to go out to Panahi and the situation is just evil. However, despite all this, the project is a complete bore to watch and desperately needed direction and editing. I would agree that this really isn't a film--and because of this, I am declining to give this one a vote. Interesting but also tedious and very, very difficult to watch. I really think using some of this footage and then making a documentary about Pahani's legal battle would have been exciting and worth seeing. Perhaps they can do this some time in the future.
"This is Not a Film" was made just before Panahi went back to prison. What it consists of is a lot of raw and rambling footage. While Panahi talks a bit about his situation, he really doesn't get into discussing the regime nor his punishment. Instead, he does a lot of seemingly mundane things (the film begins with him eating breakfast) as well as blocking out and explaining what his film would have been--if he could have made it. Additionally, friends drop by and spend time with him and talk to the camera man. All this footage was smuggled out of Iran in a hidden flash drive and appears to have been unedited--just played out in its entirety.
From a political standpoint, "This is Not a Film" is intriguing. Your heart really has to go out to Panahi and the situation is just evil. However, despite all this, the project is a complete bore to watch and desperately needed direction and editing. I would agree that this really isn't a film--and because of this, I am declining to give this one a vote. Interesting but also tedious and very, very difficult to watch. I really think using some of this footage and then making a documentary about Pahani's legal battle would have been exciting and worth seeing. Perhaps they can do this some time in the future.