Panah Panahi’s “Hit the Road”

Hit The Road (2022)

A life affirming drama-comedy road movie that’s hilarious, accessible and poignant as an Iranian family make their way across the country for reasons unknown

Iranian cinema is some of the best in the world and for those who remained in Iran after the cultural revolution in 1979, the circumstances in which these creators work is fraught either by restricting the screening of these films within Iran or prohibiting production altogether. Panah Panahi’s father, Jafar Panahi(The White Balloon, The Circle, Taxi Tehran) has been arrested and imprisoned several times, put under house arrest, and detained in July this year and is currently serving a 6 year prison sentence. In 2010, he was banned from making films for twenty years but continued to do so beginning with “This Is Not A Film” up to his current release “No Bears”.

Big recommendation this week for Panah Panahi's "Hit The Road". It's a drama-comedy road film about an Iranian family on a journey across Iran for unknown reasons. It's funny, poignant and relatable. It's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this.

The director's father, Jafar Panahi whose "No Bears" is high on my list to watch was earlier this year detained by Iranian authorities and given a a six year sentence. Ten years ago he was ordered to stop making movies for 20 years but found ways around that continuing to create.

"Hit The Road" is good in its own right but considering the conditions under which it was made, it's something of a miracle. To a western audience, I think it goes a long way toward demonstrating how little there is to divide us particularly in the current political climate.

A joyful, funny, life-affirming movie.