Taxi

2015 1h 21m FA

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 498

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Kino Film CollectionSubscription

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Jafar Panahi
Self
Hana Saeidi
Self
Nasrin Sotoudeh
Woman with roses
Majid Panahi
Cinema Student (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jafar Panahi
Writers: Jafar Panahi, Jafar Panahi
Languages: Persian
Countries: Iran

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jafar Panahi, shot by Jafar Panahi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jafar Panahi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jafar Panahi and Hana Saeidi and Nasrin Sotoudeh carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4359416 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jafar Panahi directs. Jafar Panahi behind the camera. Jafar Panahi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Iran. Dialogue in Persian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 11 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Jafar Panahi, shot by Jafar Panahi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Jafar Panahi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jafar Panahi and Hana Saeidi and Nasrin Sotoudeh carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt4359416 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 15 themes, including "taxi", "taxi driver", "passenger", "teheran (tehran), iran".
9Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jafar Panahi
Editing: Jafar Panahi
Sound: Detlef Halaski
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: FA
IMDB: Taxi (2015)

Awards

Golden Bear

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jafar Panahi

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-02-24
★ 8/10
Roaming around Tehran in a taxi for 80 minutes. This is one of the unique film, and the filmmaking I have seen. It is a docudrama, starred and directed by Jafar Panahi. It is my first film of his and I'm very impressed. I also learnt he was banned from making movies and to leave the country since last 5 years. But he took all the legal route possible to keep making them, and this movie is the result of it. He had made a couple of them before this, but with this he came outdoors to capture the streets of the Iranian capital. This movie entirely set in a taxi, well, the cameras never leaves the car, but car roams around the city, Tehran. A real time movie that runs for nearly 80 minutes. There's no open or the end credits other than the title texts and some statements. The story was very interesting, that I don't know whether it was scripted or factual, but the planning was so good to shoot it in a low profile. All the actors except the director were non pros. That definitely needs a loud applaud, because the outcome tells the quality of their exhibition. It gives a glimpse of the life as a taxi driver who sees the city through his eyes and meets the people. Some scenes were extremely funny, some were dark humours and some were thoughtful. Each time when a new character enters the frame, a new topic has brought with them and discussed, that mean the movie is totally engaging with a variety that keeps you hooked till the final. "We already have the world record of hangings after China." I think the end was very smart, because of that kind of conclusion and no post-production credits, I thought that's how the archives were smuggled out of the country and made it ready. But no one knows the truth how it all has been done, otherwise Jafar Panahi would have landed in a trouble. A rare gem and one of the best of 2015 that you must try it if you are a film fanatic. Initially, I mean before decide to watch it, I was not sure it will reach my expectations. When I sat for it, the experience was different and now I am extremely happy for giving it a try. Opinion might vary about the film, but the effort must be appreciated. Especially in a circumstance where the filmmaker has everything against him, I meant legally, but came strong in what he believes is his passion. That is inspiring and also for a risk he has taken really paid off. It won a few Internation Filmfare awards and that's how I actually came to know about this. I'm positive this film won't disappoint you as well, well, if you are not looking for twists and turns like an intelligent or a big budget film. As I said, I could have not asked a better than this, a very simple yet entertaining movie. 8/10
CinemaSerf2026-03-20
★ 7/10
Who’d be a Tehrani taxi driver, eh? Well banned film-maker Jafar Panahi used this “disguise” to mount a camera on his dashboard and document some of the characters who hail his services around the city. Now we’ve all taken cabs and found the driver to have an opinion on just about everything, but here their host tends to say little and let his passengers doing their talking. Some are chatty, some are grumpy, two have an urgent appointment for their goldfish at Ali’s Spring (as opposed to Alice Springs) and one is covered in blood before his chatterbox neice (Hana Saeidi) gets picked up from school. She’s a charmer. Bright, curious and friendly she tells her uncle about her film teacher’s plan for them all to make a short film in a month. She even has a list of (politically correct) dos and don’ts that address the saintly and the sordid. As he drives her, he becomes suspicious of a voice he thought he heard, and the tone of the film changes subtly to something a little more menacing. When I say disguise, he is still readily recognised by many around town including the “flower lady” (Nasrin Sotoudeh) who quite riskily supports people suffering at the hands of the regime, and we become more aware than ever of just how dangerous it is for him and many of his friends with the state keeping it’s eyes on him. The seriousness of the message is powerfully conveyed, but I also felt he allowed his personable young niece to counter the oppressiveness a little by just being a young girl full of questions and just a little mischief too. As an observational experience this works at showing us a glimpse of real life in Iran and leaves us to draw our own conclusions.