Hacker Cinema
Taxi
تاکسی
2015 · Film · 81 min
Directed by Jafar Panahi
A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…
3 positivefrom 3 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
3 comments on Hacker News
So personally I like films that makes me feel something without that feeling being explicitly forced upon me. This is an incredible thing to achieve that only a select few directors can do. Not “baiting” the viewers into emotions but also not being cold at the same time. Just by showing and how do they show it. Like the case of “a picture is worth a thousand words”. It’s a razor thin line but that makes these films I enjoy special and sincere.
(I'll only mentions stuff from the 21st century because otherwise I'd sit here for days)
I love japanese cinema so I'm very biased towards films from there.
- The Taste of Tea (2004) from Katsuhito Ishii
- Nobody Knows (2004) from Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Tony Takitani (2004) from Jun Ichikawa
- Memories of Matsuko (2006) from Tetsuya Nakashima
- Departures (2008) from Yojiro Takita
- Still Walking (2008) from Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Tokyo Sonata (2008) from Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- One Million Yen Girl (2008) from Yuki Tanada
- Haru’s Journey (2010) from Masahiro Kobayashi
- Story of Yonosuke (2013) from Shuichi Okita
- Shoplifters (2018) from Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Drive My Car (2021) from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
Two korean film I've really liked
- The Handmaiden (2016) from Park Chan-wook
- Pieta (2012) from Kim Ki-duk
A chinese film I've seen recently and it was pretty good
- Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014) from Diao Yi-nan
Iranian films are incredibly good and crazy what they could make despite the situation there
- A Separation (2011) from Asghar Farhadi
- Taxi (2015) from Jafar Panahi
- The Salesman (2016) from Asghar Farhadi
- There Is No Evil (2020) from Mohammad Rasoulof
- My Favourite Cake (2024) from Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha
Some european films I've enjoyed
- Enter the Void (2009) from Gaspar Noé
- Leviathan (2014) from Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Alcarràs (2022) from Carla Simón
- Fallen Leaves (2023) from Aki Kaurismäki
And last but not least some actual Hollywood films that I think are pretty good
- The Tree of Life (2011) from Terrence Malick
- Cloud Atlas (2012) from Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
- First Reformed (2017) from Paul Schrader
- Nickel Boys (2024) from RaMell Ross
I’m surprised Jafar Panahi’s “[Tehran] Taxi” is not on that list. This is a very unique film (both for Iranian Cinema and in general). Subtly subversive and critical of the regime, I am amazed this passed the censors.
Panahi worked as assistant director for Kiarostami and his earlier work “The White Baloon” (also strangely not on that list) won him international recognition. He has a very fresh eye.
(Tehran) Taxi - Awarded the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4359416/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_5
The White Baloon - winner of the Camera d'or at Cannes in 1994:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112445/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_16
In Jafar Panahi's excellent film Taxi - a faux-documentary about a taxi driver's day in Tehran, where the driver is played by the director himself - you can see a bootleg video peddler take a ride to a client's place. He even defends his actions to the director (who he recognizes) as promoting free speech.