Tehran Taxi Review

Nelson Mandela once stated that "When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw". This is what Jafar Panahi has done for the third time with his latest film made under a 20 year ban from filmmaking in Iran. After being arrested in 2010 for making a film that was "against the regime" Panahi decided that he will secretly make movies. His first two movies (This is Not a Film and Closed Curtain) were made inside in secrecy and were documentaries. But his third film under the band isn't documentary or a feature film. It blurs the lines between the two to bring us that makes us question people, society and the world around us.

The basic synopsis is that Jafar Panahi drives a taxi around Tehran for a day. The movie opens with an argument between two passengers about if kids who stole some tires should be hanged to stop people from doing it again. From there we don't get indulged in the people we meet but rather it's the city of Tehran itself.

While we may only meet 20 people of a city of 8 million we seem to know the city like a good friend at the end of the movie, we see it's good, bad and ugly. This comes down to the way it was shot. It was done with three cameras in the taxi and minimal cutting was used. It focuses the audience and uncovers movie magic to make it real.

Before I watched the movie I thought the movie was a documentary and after seeing I had to look up if it was or not. I urge you to watch the movie before looking up anything about this movie.

Panahi shows so many questions that need to attacked. He covers questions like women attending sports games (which he also did in his feature movie 'Offside'), censorship and other issues that not only define Iranian society but our western society too. When we think we have it good this movie slaps you in the face and reminds you how precious what we have is.

Each scene spontaneously jumps from one to another and the narrative flows as if it's a car that's driving along and each chapter in the movie is a new section of road that hasn't been driven along. We are paying attention as you don't know the road as well, there are turns and stops you don't know about. As an audience we don't know about them and it makes for a more interesting drive along the way. It makes the 82 minute run time feel like a drive to meet people and you do both drive and meet people at the same time.

The Golden Bear *, Golden Lion** and Camera d'Or*** winner Jafar Panahi seemingly creates a narrative that goes for realism over what could've been ostentatious narrative. The movie deserves all the attention it has got and more. When arrested in 2010 Jafar Panahi received a huge amount of support from people in the film industry around the world and he pays them back with another great film. Even with a 20 year ban from film-making it's great to see the dynamic films of Panahi making it to our shores.

Overall Score: 9.8

What did you think of this movie if you have seen it? Did it make you want to become a cabbie?

Also when Panahi was arrested in 2010 here is the list of directors, actors, actresses, critics, film organisations/societies and human rights organisations calling for his release.

Filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Francis Ford Coppola, Jim Jarmusch, Ang Lee, Richard Linklater, Terrence Malick, Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson, Michael Moore, Paul Schrader, Ken Loach, Bertrand Tavernier,Agnès Varda, Frederick Wiseman, Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Jon Jost, Walter Salles, Claude Lanzmann, Olivier Assayas, Romain Goupil, James Schamus, Amos Gitai, Patricio Guzmán, Danièle Thompson, Xavier Beauvois, Tony Gatlif, Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Kiumars Poorahmad, actors Robert De Niro,Robert Redford, Brian Cox, Pierre Richard and Mehdi Hashemi, actresses Isabelle Huppert, Anouk Aimée, Josiane Balasko, Fatemah Motamed-Aria and Golshifteh Farahani, film critics Roger Ebert, Amy Taubin, David Denby, Kenneth Turan, Todd McCarthy, Lisa Schwarzbaum, David Ansen, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jean-Michel Frodonand Angelika Artyukh, Federation of European Film Directors, European Film Academy, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), Berlin International Film Festival's director Dieter Kosslick, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival's director Rutger Wolfson, Febiofest's program director Stefan Uhrik, FIPRESCI and Toronto Film Critics Association have called for his release. France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Culture and Communications Frédéric Mitterrand, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Canadian government, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the arrest.

*Main prize of the Berlin Film Festival, which he won for this movie. He has also won two silver bears.

**Main prize of the Venice Film Festival, which he won for The Circle.

*** Best first feature award at the Cannes Film Festival, which he won for The White Balloon. He has also won the Un Certain Regard competition award.

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