Film review: ‘Hit the Road’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

Iranian comedy/ drama Hit the Road is a wonderfully poignant, funny, at times melancholic and unsettling film that at first seems like a familiar road trip film with echoes of Little Miss Sunshine but proves to be something more profound.  The film introduces us to a distinct and very welcome new voice in writer/ director Panah Panahi, the son of revered and recently imprisoned director and pro-democracy activist Jafar Panahi.

Anxiously driving across an unnamed and desolate part of Iran, a middle-aged couple (Hassan Madjooni and Pantea Panahiha) and their moody adult son Farid (Amian Simiar) and rambunctious eight-year-old son (Rayan Sarlak) squabble, gripe about everyday trivialities, sing along with the radio and celebrate their lives together while frequently stressing over the health of the family dog. Hovering over them as well is a sense of threat and paranoia leading us to suspect this is not just a regular family road trip.  While much of the film is about the prickly comic banter between the family and others they encounter – including a cyclist they hit with the car – Panahi effortlessly dovetails in touches of drama, struggles with personal disappointments, sensitive but not sentimental affirmations of their affection for one another and philosophical observations about life. The film also intrigues us with a variety of mysteries: does the father really have a broken leg, why is the older son, Farid, so morose and preoccupied and exactly where are they going?

This film is part of an Iranian sub-genre of road trip movies largely set in moving cars.  This apparently provides film makers some semblance of freedom from government scrutiny.  It might seem limiting but Panahi expertly overcomes the restrictions of the setting and actually uses the car’s cramped conditions to comic effect.  He does have the characters step outside the car and with cinematographer Amin Jafari makes use of some striking settings creating indelible images: a parched landscape sculpted with hills, remnants of ancient buildings, the crumbling façade of an old house and small solitary figures set against vast skies.  There are also surreal sequences that combine heartbreaking drama, comedy and at one point, something close to sci-fi imagery.

The film largely works because of the terrific cast performances. With his unruly hair, scruffy beard and suspicious scowl, Hassan Madjooni’s father is a fascinating looking character and with his relentless cynical observations and insults, he’s a riot. Madjooni deftly handles what could have been an obnoxious character to make him endearingly acerbic.  Pantea Panahiha is also wonderful, switching from affectionate, to gently mocking, to quietly anxious, to distraught.  Despite the trauma her character is experiencing, she never lapses into histrionics and conveys volumes with the slightest facial expressions.  Little Rayan Sarlak almost steals the film, though, as the precocious, surprisingly witty and unstoppably mischievous whirlwind of a child.

Through the family’s plight, Panahi subtly comments on the status of people in Iran as well as cultural identity.  Family members pray and observe traditions but frequently use American products and discuss American cultural icons including movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Batman Begins.

Ultimately, though, this is a story about the desperate attempt to maintain the bonds of a fracturing family and to resist the forces in life that inevitably pull people apart.  Some segments, which just feature characters sitting and chatting for extended periods, might seem a little odd and slow moving to western audiences but they’re vital in the context of the story.  This will for many be one of the defining film experiences of 2022.

Nick’s rating: ****1/2

Genre: Drama.

Classification: PG.

Director(s): Panah Panahi.

Release date: 25th Aug 2022.

Running time: 94 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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