HIT THE ROAD
Son of acclaimed Iranian master Jafar Panahi, Panah Panahi, makes his auspicious feature debut with this charming, vibrant, and unpredictable tragicomedy.
The film starts simply enough. We are placed inside the car during a chaotic family road trip through rural Iran. In the backseat, Dad is immobile with his broken leg, trying to make the best of his fraying cast. Driving is the eldest son, pensive and focused while literally trying to keep the family on track. Next to him is his mother, the rock of the family who is battling some demons that she’d rather not talk about. Taking up enough space for five carloads of people is the precocious, energetic youngest son, who keeps the family entertained with his karaoke singing and roadside hijinks as they tend to their ailing dog, Jessy. As the group makes stops along the way, we start to understand why Mom’s moods have been so rapidly shifting and where her mounting paranoia is coming from, making the intent of their journey come into focus pushing the film to an emotional climax. Panahi’s freshman effort is a tour de force of tone and emotion. Flawlessly weaving its way through genres with grace, humor, and visual inventiveness. Virtually impossible to describe without spoiling its charm, HIT THE ROAD is a wholly powerful crowd pleaser that truly has to be seen to be believed.
CAST: Hassan Madjooni, Pantea Panahiha, Rayan Sarlak, Amin Simiar
In Competition: Narrative Feature
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