It's been months since Jafar Panahi, stuck in jail, has been awaiting a verdict by the appeals court. By depicting a day in his life, Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb try to portray the deprivations looming in contemporary Iranian cinema.
In a secluded house by the sea with the curtains shut, a screenwriter hides from the world with only his dog as company. The tranquility is abruptly broken one night by the arrival of a ... See full summary »
A girl in traditional female clothing, with her arm in plaster, comes out of school one day and doesn't find her mother meeting her. She decides to travel home herself though she doesn't ... See full summary »
Director:
Jafar Panahi
Stars:
Mina Mohammad Khani,
Aida Mohammadkhani,
Kazem Mojdehi
When the estranged daughter of a hard-working live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.
Director:
Anna Muylaert
Stars:
Regina Casé,
Helena Albergaria,
Michel Joelsas
When five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.
When you are a filmmaker and you are not allowed to direct movies any more, you have to retrain. So why not become a taxi driver? Or better, why not pretend you are a taxi driver and make a film despite everything? This is what Jafar Panahi has done. Now he invites you to get into his cab for the price of a cinema ticket, to ride through the streets of Tehran and discover its people in the persons of his various passengers. Written by
Guy Bellinger
The passengers are played by non-professional actors, whose identities remain anonymous. See more »
Quotes
Nasrin Sotoudeh:
They work in a way that let us to know they are watching us.Their tactics are obvious.First, they write you up a police record. Suddenly, you are accused of being an agent for Mossad, The CIA, or MI5. Then they tack on something about your morals, your lifestyle. They make your life into a prison.Although you are released from prison, but the outside world is only a bigger prison.They make your nearest friends into your worst enemies.After that you think all you can do is either leave the ...
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I've never heard of Mr Panahi before this film, had no idea as to the state of Iranian film making and had never seen an Iranian film before. That's why I went, chiefly.
And I'm glad I did, although towards the end I did feel time started to drag a little. Because even though the later characters were just as interesting and entertaining as the first ones, to me the expositional technique used in the same location can feel a little claustrophobic and monotonous after a while.
As the film progresses you get little snapshots of passengers lives, outlook and opinions. And there is a crowd pleasing little star in the shape of the director/driver's 'pretty little niece' (her description). Her encounter with the street boy is charming although for me, could have benefited from a stronger resolution.
The story that really intrigued me though was when the driver's old friend gets into the taxi and we hear about his harrowing experience and the forthcoming lack of justice. Would have liked to have drilled down more into this to examine his motives behind not seeking revenge or retribution, but it isn't that type of film and so it was onto the next character.
So a rewarding experience although I viewed it as much an education as a piece of entertainment.
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I've never heard of Mr Panahi before this film, had no idea as to the state of Iranian film making and had never seen an Iranian film before. That's why I went, chiefly.
And I'm glad I did, although towards the end I did feel time started to drag a little. Because even though the later characters were just as interesting and entertaining as the first ones, to me the expositional technique used in the same location can feel a little claustrophobic and monotonous after a while.
As the film progresses you get little snapshots of passengers lives, outlook and opinions. And there is a crowd pleasing little star in the shape of the director/driver's 'pretty little niece' (her description). Her encounter with the street boy is charming although for me, could have benefited from a stronger resolution.
The story that really intrigued me though was when the driver's old friend gets into the taxi and we hear about his harrowing experience and the forthcoming lack of justice. Would have liked to have drilled down more into this to examine his motives behind not seeking revenge or retribution, but it isn't that type of film and so it was onto the next character.
So a rewarding experience although I viewed it as much an education as a piece of entertainment.