Iran Press/ Iran news: The region's biggest crowd-pleaser of the year "Hit the Road" unfolds over the course of a single day and follows a middle-class family of four as they bid farewell to their older brother, who has to leave the country for reasons that are kept secret.
For the majority of the film, Panahi shrouds it with a mystery that is never fully divulged, taking his audience on a bouncy ride that starts off as a light family reunion and ends with heartbreak.
Panahi’s feature is a multi-layered portrait of an Iranian family and Iranian society at large set on a road trip through north-western Iran.
Throughout, Panahi maintains a light, humanistic touch, off-setting the ascending melancholy with earworm Iranian pop tunes and a number of amusing set-pieces involving the firecracker little brother, played by Rayan Sarlak, the breakout star of the film.
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