After enjoying a long career of successful Iranian films, but being largely unshown in his own country, Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison in 2010, and banned from making films for 20 years. He actually served two months and was then placed on house arrest, during which time he made This Is Not a Film (2011) and had it smuggled out of Iran in a cake where it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. That must have annoyed the authorities considerably, as he had so blatantly contravened the film-making ban.
Another response to his arrest, imprisonment and ban was to echo a film of his mentor Abbas Kiarostami and make a clandestine film set entirely in a taxi. It's a lot more interesting than it appears, for the passengers all throw up something relevant about Iranian culture. For example they give a lift to a badly injured man and his wife, who insists he films a video will leaving her the house - without it his brothers will get it - rights of women (or rather, the lack of them). After they've dropped them off, Panahi's remaining passenger, who knows him, says 'I know you, Mr Panahi, you set all that up', and the director just smiles... But the point is, that 'passenger' is another actor, and in beautiful, playful style, these Iranians are at it again and teasing the hell out of us.
Most amusingly, the director's niece, who may well be his niece, has had a lesson on making a 'distributable' film at school, and lists the various rules that apply - characters must have Iranian names, no grim realities are to be shown, men and women should not be too close together, no criticizing government, etc etc etc. And Panahi breaks all the rules in this film! It won the Golden Bear at Berlin, which must have incensed the authorities yet again! (He was arrested again in 2022 but I believe is out again now.)
And what we learn about Iran is: there have been some very public executions of Iranians just for theft; there's lots of illegal activity going on - illegal sales of DVDs and CDs; crime is everywhere; people are liable to being arrested and held arbitrarily. But there is friendship, humour, camaraderie and incredible creativity.
Many treasurable bits... and the ending really is a knockout.
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