This "Taxi" (Hong Kong translation of "Iranian Taxi Laughing and Watching Life") was screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in March. Because of my limited English, I gave up that issue. Unexpectedly, the translated version was introduced at the end of May, so I did not hesitate to include it in the movie list. Although this film is highly rated (Golden Bear Award at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival), it still belongs to a niche category, like an experimental film, with a lot of street scenes and passersby realistically appearing, and the actors are under a fixed camera. The nagging in one go, the whole is a rough image without sculpting. In layman's terms, this is called a "realist" work. The film is only about 80 minutes in length. It is a bit of a "comedy", but it is difficult to define it as "witty" or "black humor". It even contains self-deprecating. After watching the movie, I thought about it quietly. There are really many aspects worth discussing. Because I don't have a deep understanding of Iranian culture, I can't talk about it in detail, but I still think this movie is very interesting. There are only two camera viewpoints in the whole film: the front driving recorder and the handheld Canon camera; there are also a handful of shooting angles: the front of the vehicle, the driving position in the car, the co-pilot position, rear-end rear windows with adjustable distance and close focus. All the shots are positioned in the taxi from the inside out, until the end the camera is demolished by the gangsters, and the picture is dark and regrettably ending. Although the film is about the things encountered while driving in a taxi, the plot is not strong, but the endless chatter almost records the social scene of Iran and the ironic censorship of the weird film. As a frank and honest driver of a good old man, the passengers in his car like to communicate with him eagerly. At the beginning of the film, a few carpooling guests were picked up, and it started with a conversation between a female teacher and a freelance worker (robber) that was incompatible; then an Iranian woman sent her seriously injured husband into the hospital, which was very funny. , It reflects that the rights and interests of Iranian women cannot be respected and protected at all. And because it is almost impossible for European and American movies to be shown in Iran, the Iranian people have to develop "recreational activities" to watch Hollywood blockbusters, all thanks to the credit of pirated vendors. Iranian students are depressed and cannot freely choose themes; the two old women believe in strange religious spells; the niece of the ghost Malori almost complains about the Iranian film censorship system; and the helpless juvenile scavengers will fear faith, no matter how poor they are. Old neighbors who did not dare to report injustice, women lawyers who were suppressed by patriarchal forces, and so on. It is hard to say that it can release the sufferings of the Iranian people from the camera, but at least through this movie, I can see the real side of the streets and even the style of Iran. Most of the excellent Iranian films are banned in China, and this one is obviously "crossed the boundary" due to the subject matter. Looking through the information, I understand that Iran’s film censorship system is well-known in the world. For example, the director must constantly submit scripts and cast samples to the Islamic Religious Review Committee of the Ministry of Culture for review during the filming process. There are also a series of unimaginable prohibitions, such as: prohibiting physical contact between men and women, language ambiguity, etc... The ending subtitles also confirm that this Iranian film cannot be distributed in Iran. It is better to drive a taxi to make a movie in Iran without worry, but there are still a group of film workers who really love and dare to challenge are quietly calling cards for Iranian movies. If you are a filmmaker or related to film creation, it is highly recommended. Look at the director's spirit inside. (2015.06.04 HK Broadway-Yau Ma Tei)
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