The last time I saw Jafar Panahi, he was pretending to be a Taxi driver. He drove all over Iran collecting footage to show his country that he could indeed make a movie even though the government had forbidden him from doing so. I applauded the subversion and defiant willpower; it’s an absolute crime that the film itself was a piece of crap. It’s quite clear that the message was: “I can still make a movie, HA!” rather than having anything to say. Oh well.
So here’s another Jafar Panahi film and dude is still quite literally in the driver’s seat for most of the film. Ummmm, how am I supposed to distinguish this from your last film? And then it dawned on me – he totally solved that problem … he got a new car.
Actress Behnaz Jafari is on the set of a Jafar Panahi movie (calm down, it’s no weirder than Jennifer Lawrence in a film with Laurence Fishburne) when she finds a viral video from a country mouse asking for help. Behnaz to the rescue! Does this happen lot in Iran? Because do you know the insanity that would ensue if rumor got out that American actresses were known to be micro-saviors? Never mind. C’mon, Jafars; damn the movie. It’s off you go!
And what is this dilemma, anyway? What literal Cinderella story incites a name actress from pulling out of a shoot? Gotta be torture, right? Or maybe disease? Or war? I get it. Here’s what’s gonna happen: Behnaz shows up, pulls a Lady Di routine, a few flak jackets and some tension later, everybody is wearing smiles and the press goes nuts. So what is the danger awaiting this imperiled girl? Her family is preventing her from going to the Tehran drama conservatory.
Are you shitting me?
Look, I love film, all film, and I am as strong a believer in art and freedom of expression as they come, but “mom won’t let me go to acting school” IS NOT A TRAGEDY. In the United States, that’s called “wisdom.” No idea what the Farsi translation is. What I do know is this trumped-up nothing gets a couple of semi-notables out touring the dusty landscape in search of truth. It’s like one of those Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan The Trip movies without the glamorous food or
the awful impressions. I’d say that’s a bit of a wash.
3 Faces is another film like This Is the End, where actors play themselves as if their fictional reality is true. I had to look up the meaning of the title; it pertains to three actresses at different stages of their respective careers. That thought didn’t come across one iota. Not one. A better title is The Trip to Iran, but again we’d expect Coogan and Brydon to show up. This film is better than Taxi; the local color feels more authentic and the path is smooth, not disjointed, but 3 Faces suffers from the same problems as Taxi – it isn’t terribly compelling; I didn’t care much about the subject matter, and, most importantly, when the heck is Jafar Pahani ever going to get out of his car? I’ve now seen him drive more than Jeff Gordon. Dude, if you’re gonna spend that much time in a car on camera, you should be chasing Vin Diesel. You direct movies; you’re not an Uber. Stop being behind the wheel and start being behind the camera.
Either Jafar’s attempts to endear or
His message could stand to be clearer
I hate to correct –er-
But why is the director
The Man in the Rearview Mirror?
Not Rated, 100 Minutes
Director: Jafar Panahi
Writer: Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar
Genre: The extended Iran tour
Person most likely to enjoy this film: Iranian actresses
Person least likely to enjoy the film: The Iran government, which is probably still pissed at Jafar
