The lunatics are running the asylum seeker. Well, driving the asylum seeker, actually.
Brokenhearted mother and broken legged father are journeying with their two sons across a barren expanse of Iran to deliver the eldest boy an escape route through the frontier of freedom in Panah Panahi’s enigmatic and emblematic debut feature film, HIT THE ROAD.
Life and art are packed with paradoxes and in Panahi’s picture they are richer if we are left to explore them individually. In his view, it’s about creating an opening, an elevation above the limitations set out by norms, to create surprises that trouble and enchant.
There is much that is troubling in HIT THE ROAD but that is leavened by the enchanting – parental support, a child’s perception, family foibles.
The dynamic of the family and the droll drama that ensues when characters are cocooned in a car are beautifully observed, with the added intrigue of the reason for their odyssey.
Speaking of odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is directly attributed to in a poignant parent child parlay that culminates in a surreal cinematic moment.
Veteran Iranian stage actors Hassan Majnooni and Pantea Panahiha are terrific as the father and mother, he a big, gruff, grizzly man bear, she the steely pragmatist.
The eldest boy is played by Amin Simiar, in a quiet, introspective performance demanded by the character’s uncertain predicament. In stark contrast, Rayan Sarlak, who was six at the time of filming, is an extroverted starburst, an unfiltered, exuberant performance, with “out of the mouths of babes” honesty and sincerity.
HIT THE ROAD is a slow fuse film which spurts and splutters then flutters and fizzes with humour, comedy and drama continually reigniting our interest and puzzlement.
HIT THE ROAD is a journey well worth embarking on, reminding us of the poet, Basho: It is better to travel hopefully than arrive.