Iranian director Jafar Panahi, one of Iran’s most prominent filmmakers (his last one was Jafar Panahi’s Taxi), has put together a story that is, on its surface, simple: a girl from rural Iran sends a desperate video to a famous Persian actress in which she threatens to kill herself because her family won’t accept her dream to be an actress and no one will help her achieve her dream. The actress (Behnaz Jafari, playing herself), having received the video and concerned for the fate of the young girl, convinces Jafar (playing himself) to take a drive into rural Iran to look for the girl. A very understated film, slowly paced, but generous in its respect for the characters we meet on the journey (and it’s the journey that is the focus of this film, not the destination). (Subtitles.)
