Taxi Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Taxi Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 11, 2016

“Taxi” is both a celebration and critique of life in Iran, hosted by director Jafar Panahi, whose own complex history with censorship and imprisonment informs the picture’s sense of secrecy and thinly veiled commentary. Blurring the line between drama and realism, “Taxi” doesn’t chase a gimmick, cheapening its experimentation and message. Instead, it pursues a conversational tone that’s open to explore various personalities and politics, trying to establish a human perspective to Iranian hustle, with Panahi offering a slice of life look at everyday business and the hustling citizens trying to make their way through an oppressive culture.

While keeping a low profile, filmmaker Jafar Panahi elects to spend a day as a taxi driver in Tehran, outfitting his vehicle with multiple cameras, intending on capturing the casual thoughts of his idiosyncratic riders. Panahi gets a bit more than he bargains for when a professional thief debates Sharia law with a female teacher; a movie bootlegger tries to talk a moviemaker into joining his business; a bicyclist hurt badly in an accident reveals his final wishes for the cameras; and Panahi’s niece joins the journey, chatting up a school assignment to make a short film about life in the city. Managing tempers and dealing with eccentrics, Panahi remains motivated to see where the day takes him, coming into contact with a collection of Iranians who successfully sum up the country’s true personality.

“Taxi” isn’t built for newcomers to Panahi’s story. It takes a little homework to get up to speed with the urgency of the project, as the feature offers no explanation pertaining to the helmer’s background of Iranian censorship. Arrested in 2010, accused of creating anti-Iran propaganda, Panahi emerged through a turbulent legal battle (chronicled in 2011’s “This Is Not a Film”) with a 20 year ban on moviemaking. It was a boundary he eagerly crossed, continuing to produce pictures inside his home as a way to keep the artistic juices flowing and preserve his voice while his homeland tried to silence him. This is why everything feels hush-hush in “Taxi,” which embarks on a simple mission of behavioral and philosophical observation, with Panahi taking what appears to be a leisurely drive through the city, picking up random people and a few relatives during the day. It’s all very quiet and careful, with Panahi’s history delivered in tiny moments of recognition and confession, but never explicitly detailed.

Although captured with a documentary approach (think a more refined “Taxicab Confessions”), “Taxi” can’t shake its artifice, with the “customers” a tad too polished in presentation, breaking the illusion of reality. It’s far from a deal-breaker, as Panahi remains capable of creating an element of surprise, especially through passenger anxiety. In the opening of the film, we observe a thief banter with a teacher he’s never met before, debating the merits of capital punishment. His discomfort with the conversation grows dramatically, especially when challenged on the issue by a woman. Later in the picture, two older ladies enter the cab carrying a full fishbowl, requesting a trip to a spiritual water source to keep a date with destiny. Disaster is threatened when Panahi has to stop short in punishing traffic, and the ensuing insanity identifies a level of absurdity mixed with cultural and spiritual identification that makes “Taxi” fascinating at times.

“Taxi” isn’t a political picture, but it isn’t shy about commenting on the state of hypocrisy inside Iran, using Panahi’s niece and her film project as a way to address the helmer’s own creative boundaries, using the purity of a child’s honesty to approach ludicrousness. The final customer represents political futility and perseverance, trying to make peace with a confusing, unjust society. “Taxi” is careful with its messages, often attempting humor to help lubricate communication. Subtlety helps, but there’s rarely a moment when underlying meaning isn’t understood.

Taxi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation captures the modest cinematic reach of "Taxi" to satisfaction. Captured with commercial grade cameras and cell phones, the feature isn't out to visually stun, but the intimacy of the effort is preserved, with special attention to facial details, which register a range of emotions and impish behavior, offered long takes to simply absorb performances. Textures are also convincing with taxi interiors, delivering on car particulars. Primaries remain vivid and sharp, offering more active colors on street decoration and clothing, and a closing scene with a red rose provides a little punch. Skintones are natural and welcoming. Delineation isn't challenged during the daylight shoot, but fabric and hair density periodically carry into solidification.

Taxi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While it doesn't offer an aural fireworks display to keep listeners engaged, "Taxi" provides a few unique environments with care. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix jumps in and out of automobiles, and the track handles these adjustments carefully, making one feel as though they're in car alongside the actors, with a pleasingly padded sound that recreates the interior of a taxi. It's subtle, but effective, while open air encounters are also defined to satisfaction. Dialogue exchanges are crisp and clean, managing accents with clarity, and emotional surges are comfortable, balancing frequent yelling and overlapping confrontations without hitting distortive highs. Atmospherics are animated, using surrounds to fill out street life, identifying distances and commotion. Scoring is sharp and true, contributing ideal instrumentation that helps to sell the moods Panahi is aiming for.

Taxi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "The Art of Defiance" is an essay (ten pages) written by Jamsheed Akrami, a film professor at William Paterson University. The booklet is a fine primer on Panahi's backstory and run-ins with government forces, providing a necessary understanding of the volatile situation that inspired "Taxi," along with the symbolic and therapeutic position of the shared car ride in Iran.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:55, HD) is included.

Taxi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Taxi" has its highlights, finding time with the bootlegger the most engaging, greeting a strange salesman trying to pull a noted filmmaker into a system that's actively destroying his livelihood. Obviously, when dealing with such an episodic effort, some rides are more compelling than others, but "Taxi" emerges with purpose and a flavorful view of humanity, exposing important moral choices and compelling social pressure along the way.