A stone-faced cab driver in Tehran picks up a dazed, possibly crazy woman who’s about to give birth; when he drops her off at the hospital, he is mistaken for her husband and, for some reason, graciously assumes the role. Writer-director Reza Mirkarimi (As Simple as That) withholds crucial information about the woman and the cab driver’s wife and fellow drivers, yet the characters’ behavior is so vividly realized that the movie never feels like a sleight-of-hand trick. Working in patient, unemphatic medium shots, Mirkarimi honors the complexity of the situation without making recourse to psychological explanations; the result is mysterious and fascinating, conveying a sense of wonder at everyday coincidence. In Farsi with subtitles.
Today
1 hour 27 min • 2014
