The Thousands

No this indeed is not a film. This is footage of a day in the life of an Iranian dissident awaiting trial. And so here is a review of ‘a day in the life of Jafar Panahi.’

Panahi wakes. He wanders around his apartment. He watches. He rants. He tells a few jokes. He helps somebody take out the trash. All of this is as rigorously non-entertaining as you can imagine but of course This Is Not a Film, which makes this just the point.

In fact Panahi is a Cannes Film Festival winning director and the footage we’re watching is his f*#k you to the Iranian government for banning him from leaving the country or making films for twenty years. The footage you’re forced to meander through has been smuggled out of Iran and though it lacks much of a story line or plot, Iran’s new wave underground hero’s latest at least isn’t missing a concept.

This Is Not a Film is a valid social critique which successfully draws attention to the issues facing artists in Iran even if it’s about as enthralling as watching Andy Warhol’s Sleep.