'Not a Film' Makes Powerful Statement
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SPOTLIGHT Saturday-Sunday, March 3-4, 2012 | Editor: Eli Pace | 270-887-3235 | [email protected] AT THE MOVIES n ASSOCIATED PRESS In this image released by Palisades Tartan, Jafar Panahi is shown in a scene from “This is Not a Film.” ASSOCIATED PRESS In this film image released by Magnolia Pictures, Eric Ware- heim (left) and Ray Wise are shown in a scene from “Tim & Er- ‘Not a Film’ makes ic's Billion Dollar Movie.” ‘Tim & Eric’ make powerful statement leap to big screen The cult comedy of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim gets its first big-screen showing, a faithful if not exceptional example of their BY CHRISTY LEMIRE tion party in Iran’s 2009 election. ing to shoot — blocks off part of his unique brand of mania. AP MOVIE CRITIC He’s no longer under house arrest living room with tape, acts it out, ex- Tim and Eric, given $1 billion by studio exec- but remains in limbo while awaiting plains the motivations of the young utives to make a movie, have turned in a three- Everything about “This Is Not a his fate. “This Is Not a Film” was woman who’s his lead character. He minute disaster no thanks to their spiritual Film” is cleverly deceptive, from the smuggled out in a cake just in time shows clips from previous films and guru, Jim Joe Kelly (Zach Galifianakis). They title that’s so self-deprecating, it for screening at last year’s Cannes tells stories from behind the scenes. skip town, where they’re lured by promises of sounds like a shrug to its long, first Film Festival. His imprisonment At one subtly poignant point, he riches by a lunatic huckster (Will Ferrell), who take to its many quiet moments to has become a bit of a cause celebre, gets choked up from the sheer frus- hires them to manage his rundown mall. One of the peaceful demeanor of its central but its significance far transcends tration of being restrained, from the mall’s residents is Taquito (John C. Reilly), figure: acclaimed Iranian film- glittering Hollywood trappings. having his voice silenced. You don’t a kind of sickly, grown orphan. But plot matters maker Jafar Panahi. And so we see Panahi sitting at have to be familiar with this man’s little: It’s the domino riffs of absurdity that can But ultimately, in the span of just the kitchen table, having breakfast. body of work to feel a sympathetic spiral out of control at any moment. 75 minutes, it reveals itself to be a He talks to his lawyer on speaker connection with him. For Heidecker and Wareheim, whose TV powerful statement about nothing phone. He invites a friend over — “This Is Not a Film” is simultane- shows include “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, less than the paramount impor- whom we later learn is fellow film- ously depressing as hell and brim- Great Job!” and “Tom Goes to the Mayor,” over- tance of freedom and the driving maker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb — but ming with hope and defiance. With the-top isn’t something to be evaded, it’s an urge for artistic expression. is cryptic in his instructions. He its stripped-down aesthetic, it finds ethos. Packaged in public access TV production The documentary takes place en- smokes a cigarette out on the bal- poetry in the mundane and even tirely in Panahi’s Tehran apartment cony and surveys the construction boring details of daily life. And it’s and frenzied, chopped-up editing, it has the (with a few shots at the end in the el- cranes that are altering his sur- an inspiring must-see for anyone hyper-pacing you’d expect to find in a Japanese evator) over the course of a single roundings. who feels the urgent need to create TV commercial. The philosophy seems to be to day. This is the place where he was But he punctuates these moments something beautiful and meaning- take a risk, and then take 12 more. Certainly, a forced to dwell under house arrest with interludes of obvious longing, ful, no matter the cost. large percentage of the public will have no tol- while appealing a sentence of six as “This Is Not a Film” becomes “This Is Not a Film,” a Palisades erance for it, but if you go with it, there’s qual- years in prison and a 20-year ban on both a tutorial and a celebration of Tartan release, is unrated but con- ity absurdity here. filmmaking and conducting inter- moviemaking. tains nothing that might be consid- R for strong crude and sexual content views with foreign press. With Mirtahmasb behind a digital ered objectionable for children. throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive lan- Panahi received this punishment video camera, Panahi takes us Running time: 75 minutes. Three guage, comic violence and drug use. 94 minutes. for openly supporting the opposi- through the latest script he was hop- and a half stars out of four. Two stars out of four. — Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer SATURDAY DAYTIME MARCH 3, 2012 N - NEW WAVE M - MEDIACOM S1 - DISH NETWORK S2 - DIRECTV N M 6 AM 6:30 7 AM 7:30 8 AM 8:30 9 AM 9:30 10 AM 10:30 11 AM 11:30 12 PM 12:30 1 PM 1:30 2 PM 2:30 3 PM 3:30 S1 S2 (2) (2) WKRN [2] News 2 Weekend Good Morning News 2 Weekend Born to Everyday Food for Culture Chrysler of Paid Paid Paid Paid Paid The Big Time (N) ESPN Sports Saturday ABC America Saturday Explore Health Thought Click Franklin Program Program Program Program Program (N) 2 2 (4) WSMV [4] Channel 4 News Today Saturday Today (N) Channel 4 News Today Zula Patrol Shelldon Jane and Babar Gymnastics American Cup -- New York City, N.Y. PGA Golf The Honda Classic Site: PGA National NBC Dragon (L) Champion Course (L) 4 4 (5) (5) WTVF [5] Weekend Morning Report TheDood- TheDood- Busytown Busytown NCAA Basketball Memphis vs. Tulsa (L) NCAA Basketball Louisiana State University vs. NCAA Basketball CBS lebops lebops Myst. Myst. 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