93
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Screen DailyJonathan RomneyScreen DailyJonathan RomneyA complex work of novelistic density, this is among the boldest and most accomplished statements from one of the world’s exemplary filmmakers.
- 100CineVueChristopher MachellCineVueChristopher MachellPanahi’s courageousness as an agitator is matched only by his inventiveness as a filmmaker.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyPanahi’s stoical presence at the center of all this is rattled, forcing him to contemplate the repercussions of his work both to himself and to even his most guileless collaborators. The sobering final image resonates with the unspoken cry of an artist exiled in his own homeland, saying, “Enough.”
- 83IndieWireSophie Monks KaufmanIndieWireSophie Monks KaufmanPanahi is a director who has always mingled fact and fiction, and here the distinction is more addled than ever, so that by the time the final credits roll it’s not exactly clear what was staged and what was real.
- 83The Film StageDavid KatzThe Film StageDavid KatzThe director’s bravery and ingenuity—by continuing to create new work, advocate for himself, and also entertain us—remains an utterly inspiring thing.
- 80VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangIf Panahi’s dissident films have to date been journeys of discovery about the subversively liberating, life-affirming power of cinema, No Bears is where he slams on the brakes.
- 80Time OutTime OutLegendary Iranian director Jafar Panahi (Closed Curtain, Taxi Tehran) explores ideas of freedom, and what they mean to two very different couples in No Bears, his latest film about life in the homeland that currently has him cruelly incarcerated.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawLike Panahi’s recent films This Is Not a Film and Taxi Tehran, this is powerful because of its control, subtlety and diplomatic finesse.
- 63Slant MagazineSam C. MacSlant MagazineSam C. MacNo Bears generally spends less time finding aesthetic articulations of its themes than it does building out an increasingly convoluted plot to support them.