Jafar Panahi’s Taxi: A Vehicle for Understanding Authentic Iranian Personalities

            Currently playing in theatres world wide, the 2015 documentary foreign film, Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, has received and continues to receive much acclaim for revealing the realistic mentalities of modern day Iranians who live in a place of political and religious oppression. Shot entirely from the inside of a taxi cab, director Jafar Panahi films himself pretending to be a taxi driver driving along the streets of modern Tehran, Iran. The camera, or “security device” as Panahi explains to one of his passengers, documents the conversations of the passengers, while allowing the audience to see the street views of this magnificent cultural Capital. The Iranian government forbids non-official public gatherings, however Panahi cleverly circumvents this rule by filming the entirety of the film in a taxi cab, a place where citizens can safely and freely talk about a wide range of social, political, and personal issues. With each passenger that enters his cab, another perspective of the Persian mentalities, values, and attitudes is revealed. This ‘Iranian personality’ was notably vivid with, among the various passengers, the two older superstitious clients, his niece (who is actually his niece), and the flower lady.

Jafar Panahi is a well known Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, whose works focus mainly on illustrating the realities of Iranian lifestyles. Many of his works have been banned in his own country, because his works do not follow the strict guidelines and regulations of the Iranian government. In fact, in 2010 Panahi was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment for filming anti-government propaganda, and then later sentenced to a 20-year long movie making ban, because the government felt that his works defied the rules of their government. Nevertheless, Panahi continues to create his films, though he must distribute them to different countries outside of Iran.

The camera is placed on the dashboard of Panahi’s car, and films his serene smile as he drives through the streets of Tehran picking up what seems to be nonprofessional actors. At one point, two modestly dressed older woman enter Panahi’s car holding a fish bowl. They begin ranting about how they MUST make it to Ali’s Spring by 12 noon, because “their life depends on it”. This was very comical, of course, because it represented the superstitious nature of some Iranians. Their character was brought out even more so when Panahi accidentally made a short stop that caused the fish bowl to crack, leaving the fish laying vulnerably on the floor of the taxi cab. The women worried endlessly “they’re going to die, they’re going to die!”, which just goes to show the stress they’re willing to go through for the sake of this superstition!

At another point, Panahi picks up his outspoken, yet incredibly loveable young niece, Hana. Her presence in the film was of utmost importance as she, in an effort to create her own film for a school project, delineates the Iranian restrictions of movie making. For example, she shares, among the many other restrictions, that one must respect the Islamic headscarf, show no contact between man and woman, avoid sordid realism, and replace the secular Iranian names of the good characters with the sacred names of Islamic saints. These restrictions show the challenges that many must face by living in Iran.

In another scene, Panahi picks up someone who Hana has nicknamed the “flower lady”. Panahi and the “flower lady” seem to be acquainted as they begin the ride making references to jokes from their past. The “flower lady” asks to be dropped off by the county jail where she would like to pay a visit to a girl who was arrested for being outside a volleyball stadium. She then mentions that she was suspended from practicing law for three years, but nevertheless remains an active role stating that she wont listen to the verdict until she gets the official notice! Only later did I learn (after conversing with some other Persian audience members after the movie) that this “actress”, was actually Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is a very well known human rights lawyer in Iran. She herself was imprisoned for six years because the Iranian government thought she was responsible of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm state security. Evidently, the three characters mentioned, along with the many other passengers in Panahi’s film, uncover another layer of the modern Iranian. By filming in this creative way, Panahi helps us better understand the thoughts and opinions of the modern Iranian, a perspective that we generally are not exposed to!

I must say that my experience was greatly heightened because I myself am Persian. This helped me in two ways: 1. Understanding the language helped tremendously in fully understanding and appreciating the movie. The subtitles were good and accurate, but often times there is significance in the wording or in the WAY in which the language is spoken. For example, “Siah Nahmaney” in farsi literally translates to “black movie making”, which generally speaking means sordid realism. Knowing the true translation of the word, helped me better understand the significance and views of the Iranian government on movie making. They believe that sordid realism would show the “blackness” or the “darkness” of the country, which is something they fervently oppose. 2. Secondly, as a Persian, I was able to recognize the Persian music that played in the background. Some of the songs that were played are among the most popular, traditional songs played by highly admired singers like Hayedeh and Googoosh. Though it is a very slight detail, it is one that I can appreciate especially since these were songs that I grew up listening to. Audience members will still be able to appreciate the film, but I think that Persian/Iranian people may feel deeply connected to the implications of the film.

The film ended with a Farsi letter signed by Panahi explaining that due to his movie making ban (a surreal reminder of the rigid Iranian film restrictions), he is not able to officially recognize the names of the actors who made the movie possible, but nevertheless thanked all those who helped him in the process. His courageous and hard work has been recognized when his film won the Golden Bear award at the 65th Berlin Film Festival. Unfortunately, Panahi wasn’t able to leave the country to accept it, so his niece, Hana Saeidi, had to accept it on his behalf.

Overall, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to discover the foreign film category. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film, and I look forward to viewing more foreign films in the future! (I have my eyes on “Mustang”, a Turkish foreign film, currently playing at Lincoln Plaza Theatre!)