Taxi (Jafar Panahi) [Archive]

Stay Puft

10-28-2015, 05:52 AM

Lacks the vital urgency of This is Not a Film, but of course; Taxi is effortlessly entertaining and engaging, the product of a filmmaker comfortable (is that the right word?) working in an environment where he's not supposed to be making films. And yet that's also necessarily the theme, and Taxi is no less focused (and angry!) in its takedown of Iran's less than savory politics, and Panahi's filmmaking ban specifically. In a weird way, I sort of love that this is what happened to Panahi's career. He's a compelling and likeable on screen presence, and his situation presents unique filmmaking challenges that result in singular films (the camera setup for this film is simple but clever, and works better than I would have imagined). Also, the rapidly rotating cast of characters who occupy his taxi cab in this film are all entertaining and surprisingly funny (especially his niece, who he picks up from school about half way through the film).

The film appears simple and unassuming on the surface, but Panahi manages to wrestle surprising political drama out of his conceit, and works some visual magic out of his limitations (the closing shot, like the one in This is Not a Film, is another striking and memorable long shot). Not every scene or character works for me, and it drags a bit towards the end (the stuff with the old friend who got mugged is probably the weakest section) but overall I quite enjoyed this effort.