Film Forum

A family speeds through the Iranian desert toward the Turkish border: Where are they going? Why is mom paranoid about being followed?  Is the dog acting funny? At the wheel is the family's brooding elder son, with an over-attentive polestar mother riding shotgun, and a bearded, full-bellied pops (one leg immobilized in a cast) in the backseat losing a battle of wits with his younger son – whose rascally energy keeps everyone both entertained and exasperated. “A beautifully tender comedy that tears your heart in half with a featherlight touch — a film that swerves between tragedy and gallows humor with the expert control of a stunt driver” (David Ehrlich, IndieWire). Son of auteur Jafar Panahi, and apprentice to the legendary Kiarostami, Panah Panahi makes his debut with a film that’s playfully new, both visually and tonally, yet resonant of the masterful tradition from which he descends.

2021        93 MINS         IRAN         IN PERSIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES      KINO LORBER

Reviews

“THE QUIET, LOW-KEY MASTERPIECE OF THE YEAR. This Iranian film about a family on a mysterious road trip is funny, tragic, moving and a near-perfect debut movie.”
– David Fear, Rolling Stone 

“A thrilling and mysterious revelation from Iran… a love story, a tragicomedy, and a triumph.” 
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Critic’s Pick. A storytelling style that is at once clear and elusive. What makes HIT THE ROAD so memorable and devastating is the way it explores normal life under duress… That invisible cruelty make the tenderness and good humor of this movie all the more precious, and almost unbearable.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Crackling with energy and outbreaks of exuberant lip-synching, riotously funny at times and quietly devastating at others, (a) phenomenal feature debut. Panahi crafts a vibrantly humane and utterly relatable portrait of a family at a crossroads…(with a) winning combination of humour, first rate performances and pre-revolution Iranian pop music. There’s not a single moment in the storytelling which feels rote, not a directorial decision which resorts to cliché. Thrillingly inventive, satisfyingly textured and infused with warmth and humanity, this is a triumph.”
– Wendy Ide, Screen International

“Unforgettable… Panah Panahi's heartbreaking and unexpectedly hilarious debut channels his father Jafar while speeding in the opposite direction. A lovable and affecting crowd-pleaser…a beautifully tender comedy that tears your heart in half with a featherweight touch - a film that swerves between tragedy and gallows humor with the expert control of a stunt driver.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“(A) vibrant debut…  (with) shaggy good humor and spontaneous filming style… (It) feels like the arrival of a vital, individual new voice. Veers from ribald comedy to profound melancholy. A crowd-pleaser that nonetheless doesn’t serve up easy punchlines or cozy messages.”
– Guy Lodge, Sight + Sound