Hit the Road

A capsule review written for The Big Issue #668 (19 August 2022).

Hit the Road (Panah Panahi, 2022)
★★★★½

In this debut feature by Iranian filmmaker Panah Panahi, a family – comprising a mother (Pantea Panahiha) and father (Hasan Majuni), their pensive 20-year-old son (Amin Simiar) and his hyperactive kid brother (Rayan Sarlak), plus an ailing dog – embark on a road trip both mundane and mysterious. As they traverse the countryside, the plentiful rest stops, in-car banter, and encounters with locals may evoke those of any long-distance family trip. When the destination and purpose of their travel become clearer, the journey takes on far greater emotional and political implications. The film shifts effortlessly between different moods, extinguishing moments of joy with tears and defusing tragedy with comedy, poetic tenderness and occasional drifts into fantasy. Panahi is the son of celebrated auteur Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon, The Circle, Taxi), whose influence can be felt throughout. With this great, endlessly surprising road movie, he lives up to his family name and takes it in a bold new direction.