This Is Not a Film
Palisades Tartan | Release Date: March 2, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
90
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 3, 2012
In short, This Is Not a Film is the world within an apartment, and it is quietly devastating. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoApr 5, 2012
This Is Not a Film isn't just a film, it's a strong one. It's also an act of political defiance, a moving personal document and a meditation on what film is and can be. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 29, 2012
This Is Not a Film is a compelling personal document, a quietly passionate statement of artistic intent, and an uncompromising testament to his belief in cinema. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMar 1, 2012
How did Mr. Panahi do this? I'm at a bit of a loss to explain, to tell you the truth, since my job is to review movies, and this, obviously, is something different: a masterpiece in a form that does not yet exist. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 1, 2012
Against all odds, an unquenchable artist has made yet another piece of powerful art. Read full review
100
SalonAndrew O'HehirMar 1, 2012
Any way you slice it, it's a brave and brilliant act of defiance. Read full review
100
Boxoffice MagazinePhil ContrinoFeb 29, 2012
This Is Not A Film and "A Separation" masterfully show Iranians that are full of the same passions, concerns and desires as the rest of the world-an incredibly important accomplishment now that the drumbeat to war grows louder each day. Read full review
100
Village VoiceKarina LongworthFeb 28, 2012
It's a political statement, an act of defiance, a master class in one auteur's body of work and process, and a document of a life unseen. But above all, it's a gripping entertainment. Read full review
100
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 28, 2012
Sure it is - and a great one at that. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 27, 2012
In Panahi's case, he is insuperably handicapped by his current constraints. And yet, despite everything, here is This Is Not a Film, which is emphatically a film – and an extraordinary one. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 27, 2012
This is a great film, and a triumph of creativity and courage over repression. Read full review
95
NPRElla TaylorMar 2, 2012
If you pay close attention, there's also an exhilarating evocation of how art is stubbornly made, and arbitrary authority put in its place, under the most confining conditions. Rene Magritte, whose famous pipe painting is slyly honored in the movie's title, would be jazzed. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 14, 2012
As its title suggests, This Is Not a Film may not be what we're used to in a movie, but in many ways it's much, much more. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 27, 2012
Standing at his balcony, filming the revelry with his iPhone, he seems to be saying that directing is more defiant an act than lighting a firecracker or two. Truth be told, Panahi's poignant "Film" is infinitely more explosive. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 27, 2012
In totalitarian societies, artists have found all sorts of ways - some brilliantly imaginative - to disguise their political protest, but Panahi has no subterfuges left. This Is Not a Film ends with a whimper that is a bang. He must be freed. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertApr 11, 2012
Little by little, detail by detail, This Is Not a Film leads to a final scene of overwhelming power. I don't think it was even planned - no more than Panahi expected the little actress to take the cast off her arm. It simply happens, and then the film is over, having nothing more to say. Because, after all, it is not a film. Read full review
88
Slant MagazinePhil ColdironFeb 27, 2012
In its way, this effort is both a forceful assertion of the most stifling brand of auteurism and a radical reconfiguration of its political potential. Read full review
85
MovielineStephanie ZacharekFeb 29, 2012
A small but extremely significant message in a bottle. That metaphor is almost literal: The picture made its way to Cannes via a USB drive -- which was smuggled in a cake. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 23, 2012
Merely from a film-study standpoint, it's an interesting exercise. Read full review
80
Total FilmTom DawsonMar 19, 2012
Drawing on revealing clips from Panahi's previous films, TINAF reveals not only the realities of artistic censorship, but its firework-laden finale shows how cinema thrives on spontaneity. Read full review
80
SlateDana StevensMar 2, 2012
It's particularly exciting to get to see an inventive underground work like This Is Not a Film in the wake of Iran's first-ever Oscar win for Asghar Farhadi's great film "A Separation." It's becoming clear that the blossoming of Iranian cinema, which has been going on now for at least 20 years, is too strong a force for the government censors to contain. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMar 1, 2012
Fascinating for what it signifies as much as what it shows, This Is Not a Film illustrates how Panahi is struggling to stay alive creatively and, paradoxically, can't help but demonstrate how much of a natural filmmaker he is. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMar 1, 2012
It's irrefutably art, and undeniably vital. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid DenbyFeb 27, 2012
The movie is also about a man without fear. It is often funny and stirring, but as you are watching you know what the game will lead to; dictatorships are not known for their sense of humor. [5 March 2012, p. 86]
75
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasFeb 27, 2012
Pleasing mainly just as a message-in-a-bottle from a restless, persecuted artist-that is, until the amazing closing shot, which brings the volatility of post-Green Revolution Iran home with unforgettable force. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyFeb 27, 2012
Deft and ironic, mixing banal reality with poignant metaphor in a typically Iranian style. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithMar 2, 2012
So there is courage and cheekiness here. What there is not is a story, or much insight or even anger; anyone expecting an indictment of Iran will be sorely disappointed. Read full review
More From This Movie

90 Critic Reviews

6.3 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL