I'd never heard of Jafar Panahi prior to watching "No Bears" but the trailer looked interesting enough to give it a shot. Unfortunately this is one of those films where all of the action is stuffed into the trailer and what's left is a whole lot more slow-moving.
It's not that the film is boring per se but there's not really a story and not much happens. Instead it's a mockumentary (since Panahi plays himself) that flips between his time in a remote village and the film that he's making by proxy across the border in Turkey.
Points are being made about the lack of freedoms in Iran, the power of the government/military and how individuals are coerced into playing a role in the system. This isn't all that explicit though and doesn't really go anywhere - which is why it wasn't all that interesting for me as a non-Iranian.
In short I wasn't exactly bored while watching "No Bears" but after a while I did start glancing at my watch and I'm glad that it wasn't any longer!
It's not that the film is boring per se but there's not really a story and not much happens. Instead it's a mockumentary (since Panahi plays himself) that flips between his time in a remote village and the film that he's making by proxy across the border in Turkey.
Points are being made about the lack of freedoms in Iran, the power of the government/military and how individuals are coerced into playing a role in the system. This isn't all that explicit though and doesn't really go anywhere - which is why it wasn't all that interesting for me as a non-Iranian.
In short I wasn't exactly bored while watching "No Bears" but after a while I did start glancing at my watch and I'm glad that it wasn't any longer!