thelasttwohundredyears
Maybe I'll come back someday and digress on the politics of this film, but I would just like to hail it for some fine, fine acting. It's long, but I doubt anyone could say the atmospheric shots were overdone, and few frames were wasted--they almost all reflect on something else in the film. It's like a very long, slow, convulsion, if that makes any sense.If you, like me, were disappointed by the manipulative, false, Academy award-winning _A Separation_, then restore your sense of probity with _Manuscripts Don't Burn_. I also can't believe the director hadn't had Shelley from _Glengarry Glen Ross_ in mind as he drew the protagonist here, but, if he didn't, it probably only makes both films more real and remarks an essential cultural and human sameness at play. (Both movies, don't forget, are based on real-life situations.)
FilmCriticLalitRao
For his sixth Iranian film,"Manuscripts Don't Burn" Mohammad Rasoulof chose to highlight the difficult lives of intellectuals in Iran.His film shows the extent to which certain intellectuals notably writers are forced by government authorities to remain silent in order to avoid becoming a major embarrassment to the government.This is one easy angle used by many to watch this film.The film also suggests that the persecution of people who are against government is not restricted to any particular country.It is a global phenomenon.Although this film starts as a hurried thriller,it chooses to change its narrative content in the subsequent parts as audiences are led to witness intense psychological games of oneupmanship.There is a good description of all kinds of mind games being played by intellectuals and their rivals.One learns that intellectuals are not easy to crack as they use all their might to tackle any use of force by their rivals.The unique thing about this film is Rasoulof's decision to view human beings as vulnerable to folly as two killers are shown to confront their own personal problems. Despite its run time of 125 minutes,'Manuscripts don't burn" is honest in its depiction of Iranian intellectuals who are constantly being watched by pro government authorities.Lastly,it is just a wonder that such a film was made under extremely difficult conditions.It is now for audiences all over the world to ensure that it gets a major success.
corrosion-2
Mohammad Rasoulof's film was made clandestinely under highly secretive conditions. Due to its controversial and politically sensitive content, even after its release the cast and crew (bar Rasoulof) remain anonymous.The film has been made with a digital camera using non-actors. The title of the film is taken fro a sentence in Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Manuscripts... is "inspired" by real events in Iran where a series of intellectuals were murdered in what was called "Serial Killings". These murders have largely remained unresolved. The film treats these events in a very realistic and matter of fact way which makes them even more chilling and disturbing. The two main protagonists assigned with the killings go about their daily life in a very normal manner, one tending to his sick child at the hospital while the other offers prayers to God so that the child can get well soon! Rasoulof's use of camera and sound is exemplary, achieving maximum tension and sustaining it for most of the film. Highly recommended but not for the squeamish.
Rob Wilson
Saw the movie at London film festival. To be honest most the audience was made up of chin scratching, cardigan wearing liberals that i assume were looking forward to a movie about the indelible fight of man versus the system. I sat there with my 3 cans of cider and ended up falling asleep for 10-15 minutes during a protracted period of navel gazing around 25 mins into the movie. Having said that, the movie managed to accelerate towards the finish. Instead of having a liberal payoff about the enduring struggle of man it manages to show what i consider the banality of life. The exploration into the corruption that this movie claims to expose is matched by the cowardice in conviction of the intellectuals and the ability of the protagonists to commit acts unthinkable due to the pressures of the state. There are no heroes, only victims and the last 30 mins are as tough as any movie.Congratulations to the movie maker for creating an opaque, disturbing, complex and anarchic movie that refuses to provide an explanation but detail the horrors that some seem to be experiencing in Iran. The final shower scene was probably overdone for the astute members of the audience but for me it brought together the numerous face washing scenes and highlighted an inherent truth about what we as humans will endure.
AD
