Hit The Road

Panah Panahi (whose father Jafah Panahi – his own films will be familiar to many of you- was recently jailed by Iranian Authorities) makes a triumphant debut as writer and director. Clearly inspired by his father, Hit the Road is a deceptively light-touch film that hits that sweet spot between laughter and tears perfectly. A family in a borrowed car are being driven by the elder son – apparently on his way to get married, but whose real purpose is gradually revealed – while his six-year-old whirling dervish of a brother, and his childish wonder at the mysteries of the world, makes for an effective contrast to the main storyline.

95% – Rotten Tomatoes

7.3 / 10 – IMDB

“By concealing some of the nitty-gritty, Panahi makes an even more fiercely political point throughout “Hit The Road.” Here, the details don’t matter as much as their heartbreaking consequences: the irreversibly burdened families unfairly torn away from their loved ones, and a society that carries those scars.”

“Panahi organically laces “Hit The Road” with interludes of sharp humor and casual contemplation. Furthermore, he intertwines the family’s predicaments (the root of which is hidden from the young son also) with that of the country they dwell in. “