Hit the Road

Why we picked it – We have shown a number of films by Jafar Panahi, a wry but controversial Iranian film-maker who is now imprisoned. This is the first feature by his son, Panah.

Trailer

Synopsis – We are placed in a car with a chaotic, but affectionate, family on a road trip across a rugged landscape. The mother is fretful, the father (who has his leg in plaster) is grumpy, the dog is sick and the younger son is manically energetic. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet. The family tell the younger boy that they are taking his brother to get married; but it becomes clear that they are travelling to the Turkey/Azerbaijan border to enable him to escape form Iran.

The film – Hit the Road is a road movie, but in a distinctly Iranian way – shot semi-covertly and using the possibilities of the car, as prop, symbol, mobile location and means of transporting cast and crew about without attracting attention during filming. Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry and Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Tehran (which we have shown) are other examples. In this film there are also the underlying themes of escape and exile.

Interview with Panah Panahi at New York Film Festival – it is rather long as the interview style is American-ponderous and Panahi’s remarks are translated from Farsi; the sound quality is not great either – so for an alternative, see below.
For the linguistically skilled here is another (shorter) interview with French sub-titles.

Links – imdb Guardian review Rolling Stone review Little White Lies review New Yorker review

Director/Writer: Panah Panahi, Cinematography: Amin Jafari, Iran, 2021, 93 mins, 12A