Taxi

no other filmmaker can so deftly combine warm, playful humanism with bleak, apocalyptic cynicism, and that's not to mention his daunting formal artistry, sparkling wit, wisdom and badass courage. he earns those moments of didacticism, couched as they are in layers of ingeniously constructed artifice which lend remarkable urgency and vast implication to every word and image, a hell of a lot more than any critic ever earned the right to call him didactic. cinema has rarely seemed so important.

Genius filmmaker, not a great driver.

The fact that it's blatantly staged, and Panahi's perpetual grin, just makes it more effective; if you're not allowed to show real life because it's "undistributable", then distribute a fiction about that. Panahi plays with the censors, but never forgets that it's deadly serious.

A bit overdone at times but the conversations are pretty interesting and Panahi is likeable.

Featuring equal amounts of humorous warm-hearted humanism and serious, dire discussions on politics and philosophy, Taxi subversively blends the boundaries between Fiction and documentary, to make a film the probably more accurately depicts modern Iran than any otherwise "pure" documentary ever could.

There is a lightness to Panahi's approach that seems to me something of a shift from his previous "limited" films. Much of this film plays out comically, even as Panahi never lets us forget the rampant lack of personal freedom that exists in Iran. Further, Panahi once again seems to be playing with the line between fact/fiction, leaving it unclear how much of the film is scripted. This ambiguity has often shown up and worked in Iranian cinema (Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf), as it does here as well.

Reminiscent of Kiarostami's vastly superior Ten, this is nevertheless an achievement in its own right, given the fact that Panahi is continuing to make films in Iran while under the threat of imprisonment for doing so. That the end result is compelling and full of levity, while simultaneously exposing his government's brutally oppressive policies towards the arts is a testament to Panahi's tenacity and inventiveness as a filmmaker.

The more I think about it, I more I think I like it. Being set entirely in a taxi, this is surprisingly more cozy than claustrophobic, maybe thanks to Panahi's own modest and comforting presence, along with the array of passengers in his taxi -- and they sure are a collection of characters! Through each of these vignettes with these folks, the importance of film (or video recording) is playfully explored, making this a fun self-reflexive film. Keep sticking it to the man, Panahi!

Charming and endlessly important.

"...a scenic ride through Iran's capital that serves as a portrait as well as a deconstruction of the city and its artist." [Full review]

Driving and talking is kind of a thing in Iranian cinema, isn't it? Very likeable filmmaking with warmth, humour, intelligence and a nice dose of subtle cynicism. It aims for an organic narrative but ends up feeling a bit constructed. The meta-text here is over half the story. Massive respect for Jafar Panahi.

Obviously this isn't gonna be Panahi's crowning achievement but it's still important on not only a cinematic level but a social level as well. This is someone who cares for the art form more than most people care about anything. Beautiful and smart at times but a bit disjointed at others.

How can anyone dislike Panahi? He is literally risking it for cinema, more than your "daring" little favs are doing. Besides this is a great movie.

watchable

Yes, this is an interesting and important commentary on the social challenges faced by different Iranians, but even more so it's a playful exploration of the power of film to imitate and transcend reality. To be honest, it would have made an even more satisfying film if it was just Jafar driving around with Omid flogging bootleg DVDs while Hana preached about the requirements for a distributable film. "I think all movies are worth watching. Depends on your taste." I fully concur Mr Panahi.

7??????????????????????????????????…

Has Panahi ever heard of subtlety before?

all of these iranian movies involve dealing with their ass-backward repressive laws and customs and as a free baseball-playing hotdog-eating american with tits and asses all over my tv I just can't personally relate to any of it on an emotional level. "should thieves be executed?" is that seriously where iran is on their cultural development progression? that's like some hammurabi shit, it's like medieval times over there. I just can't relate.

Not Ten but still something like seven maybe

2017/07/19

New Yorker now has a video series. Imagine if Panahi did his version of that using the Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee format. Each situation interested me (which is rare). The Iranian government has actually added interest to Panahi's films--as I'm curious to see how he'll get around the restrictions. Go Panahi!

Panahi is taking risks, not afraid to show the world how it is to live in Iran. We need more dissidents like him, artistically not what you're looking for. But this is more than just a movie.

For Taxi (2015) Jafar Panahi comes up with a unique way to make a film in a country he's unable to get distribution because of the strict government restrictions for film making. He bases his entire movie inside a taxi driving around and picking up actors with dialogue giving insight as to how the culture and life is inside Iran. It's a amusing way to deliver a message even if one is confined to using those mobile cameras on the dashboard.

Simple film making but quietly profound.

good job jafar .... u r free even in a prison , keep going :)

Felt like it had potential to be better. The concept is great and acting very good. Left me wanting more.

22 Desembre 2015 - Calmada, no se'm fa lenta, encara que m'endormisco per la tarda. Estan bé les situacions, els personatges, el realisme.

Very clever way to make an "undistributable" film, managing to identify and suggest the most burdening social and cultural concerns of a country, in the most natural, decent and down-to-earth manner possible. It's witty, it's funny and it's very straight forward.

Panahi makes a huge mistake. He becomes a teacher, dictating us informations about censorship in Iran and stating the obvious about the social reality in Iran. He scorns his niece for intervening the reality, but doesn't he do the same thing by constructing a (fake) narrative which feigns reality? This movie could have been what it wanted to be if Panahi had put a real hidden camera in his taxi and filmed real and contingent stories. A formally distinct idea doesn't mean automatically authentici

About as forgettable as riding in a taxicab. Unless one is saddled with a jovial, inebriated driver who, for the life of him, can't stop singing effusively to Katy Perry's Firework. I'd be willing to pay the extra bucks for that.

34. İstanbul Film Festivali - Rexx Sineması: Keşke biraz daha az didaktik olsaydı be.

An easy watch. Panahi's film addresses the director's problems with Iranian censorship head-on.