Heaven's Taxi
Encyclopedia
Hitler's Grave, also known as Heavens Taxi, is a film by Daryush Shokof
. The film is about an Iranian girl played by Taies Farzan who leaves Iran in order to fulfill two promises she makes to her dying brother just moments before he dies. Her brother Majid, played by Afshin Akhavan, had been fatally tortured by agents from the Islamic Republic of Iran after being arrested for taking part in the protests against Iran's presidential elections in 2009. The first promise she makes to the brother is that she will go to Berlin, Germany to find Hitler's grave. The second promise is kept a secret from the audience until the last scene of the film in a masterful Hitchcockian
style of suspense as Majid whispers the words into his sister's ear just before he dies.the film won best awards for Film and Directorial for Daryush Shokof at the NYIIFVF.
suggested in an interview after the film that he specifically wanted to show the important role of women in the Iranian society and how he admires their courage, honesty, and therefore wanting to glorify the essence of giving one's word to the woman in a society that such a characteristic has always been a most admirable quality owned by Iranian men and not their women. He also added that it was important for him to have a Moslem woman taking charge and initiate a lovable relationship to a man rather the other way around which is usually the standard cliches for all macho driven films coming from Iran
, where a Moslem man gets the girl regardless of her ethnicity and origin. Another major factor he adds is simply to show how absolutely not important should the role of a religion be in our times and in 2011, without any disrepect to any religion and that religions should never play a role in affairs of human beings with one another. With such a pretext, Atossa is from the start the unlikely hero of a society whose women showed great courage and bravery during the uprising against the presidential results in Iran in 2009. Atossa sets forward to seek a goal that is a taboo in the world of Islam, and equally so in the faith of the Judaism but continues to go through all the difficulties ahead of her just because she gave her word to her dying brother. However, the story goes far beyond the cliches of wanting to bring these two archfoes enemies closer together in a semi-documentary style of movie making by Daryush Shokof
. Atossa arrives in Berlin and starts asking everyone for the address to the grave of "Hitler". She is dressed under an Islamic Veil and is mostly being treated unfairly by everyone she comes across to ask the question. she soon comes to the understanding that she is perhaps in a wrong place, asking the right question from the wrong people at a very wrong timing and being the wrongest person to ask the question at all for she is an Iranian in addition to be a woman under chador
. She goes through many unpleasant situations and even gets into physical confrontations with all sorts of people in the society from the foreigners living in Berlin
, to home grown Nazis each and every time she asks where the grave is until she finally gets a hint from the least expected person "a prostitute" who tells here where she might be able to find the address and shows her the Synegouge building in the city and suggests she ask the Grand Rabbi for the whereabouts of the grave in town. Atossa, meets the Rabbi, played by the German actor Vadim Glowna
. The Rabbi takes her to a sight and convinces her of the sight being the right location to look for the grave. He cleverly indicates to her that if she truly looks for the grave of Hitler, then she might as well assume that the whole area and or perhaps the whole Germany
to be the grave of Hitler, and that she does not have to look for mysterious answers and assume further speculations to continue with her mission.
Atossa is now overjoyed, convinced, and most happy to have found the answer to her first promise and is positively motivated again to continue her mission in order to deliver the second promise. She arrives her hotel room to rest a while, turns on the T.V. screen and is shocked from seeing the shooting to death of Neda
, the innocent Iranian student during the protests on the streets of Tehran. The horrifying pictures of the final dying moments of Neda takes her by storm. She decidedly and in a daze leaves the hotel and starts a run for freedom alongside the rivers in the city and finally comes to stand on top of the bridge where she is in peace with herself and the world she sees around her. She takes charge and as if deciding to control her own fate from this moment on and start a whole daring, courageous and peaceful new life she commits an act to set herself free from that first rule of clothing that has governed her life style for all her past. Her first step towards her free future is to rid herself from the mandatory Veil around her head. She finally throws the Veil down to the running waters under the bridge and starts a Mona Lisa smile which should also help start a whole new dimension not just for herself but also for all women living in such cultures.
Atossa starts her new life, walks the streets of Berlin in a new mood and sees the forbidden corners of the city as well where naked pictures of women and men are open for public view behind the windows of porno shops and finally enters a disco club. She now drinks shots of Vodka dances impressively and even gets annoyed by some young dancers on the dance floor and is finally rescued and brought back home by the hotel manager who has an eye for her from the first look. The two are to dine later and talk of their mutual interests in things and eventually in each other. However, soon the wonderful dinner date turns bitter as Lars, played by Pierre Kiwitt, proposes to her too early at the dinner table.
The detective "Karlsson" who is commissioned to watch after everything she does from her second day of her arrival in the city is always on their tales until he finally is the witness to a most moving final moments between Atossa and Lars in the last scene of the film. This is also the scene were we find out the hillariously surprising nature about the second promise. The final picture of the film ends gloriously with the Rabbi looking at Atossa and Lars and blessing them from afar.
has just made it public in an open-letter to the world press and film festivals that he has refused to submit Hitler's Grave to the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
, 2010, in protest to the festival selecting again an Iranian film (this time even an Iranian-German, Co-Production) with which he believes the festival openly insults and undermines the struggle of Iranians for freedom from under the Dictatorial rules of Islamic Republic of Iran. The film was rejected by Cannes Film Festival
2010 where another Iran
-France
co-production movie by Abbas Kiarostami
who Shokof suggests is the Regime,s puppet
film director was selected in the competition section of the festival. Daryush Shokof repeatedly condemns all festivals that have so vividly ignored the struggle of Iranians for freedom from under the Islamic Republic rule over Iran which he refers to as being one of the most darkest and backwards and inhumane regimes to have ever goverened Iran for over 30 years. During an interview with the German TV channel ARD
and with the respected journalist Henryk Broder
Shokof compared the Iranian regime and its dangers to be worse than the Adolf Hitler
with the reasoning that today we have global Internet systems and the world is connected and watching every move everyone makes. Today no one can hide from the truth and say: we did not know. Today, we all know what is happening in Iran and still the whole world sits quiet and does absolutely nothing to rid the world and Iranians from the evil of such a Barbaric Regime called Islamic Republic of Iran.
was missing for around 12 days which he said he was kidnapped by four Moslem fanatics who asked him not to show both his two recent films Iran Zendan
and Hitler's Grave or else he would be dead. He was found at the river side by Rhine River in Cologne
, Germany
after 12 days in the hands of his captors.
Hitler's Grave has been submitted for considerations for 7 Oscars to the Academy Awards 2011 by ARRI Group Germany and ITN Distribution, USA in the following categories;
Daryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
. The film is about an Iranian girl played by Taies Farzan who leaves Iran in order to fulfill two promises she makes to her dying brother just moments before he dies. Her brother Majid, played by Afshin Akhavan, had been fatally tortured by agents from the Islamic Republic of Iran after being arrested for taking part in the protests against Iran's presidential elections in 2009. The first promise she makes to the brother is that she will go to Berlin, Germany to find Hitler's grave. The second promise is kept a secret from the audience until the last scene of the film in a masterful Hitchcockian
Hitchcockian
Hitchcockian is a general term used to describe film styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock's films.-Characteristics:Elements considered Hitchcockian include:*The cool platinum blonde....
style of suspense as Majid whispers the words into his sister's ear just before he dies.the film won best awards for Film and Directorial for Daryush Shokof at the NYIIFVF.
Plot
The hero of the film is a Moslem woman "Atossa", played by Taies Farzan who starts the whole story based on her promises to her brother. Daryush ShokofDaryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
suggested in an interview after the film that he specifically wanted to show the important role of women in the Iranian society and how he admires their courage, honesty, and therefore wanting to glorify the essence of giving one's word to the woman in a society that such a characteristic has always been a most admirable quality owned by Iranian men and not their women. He also added that it was important for him to have a Moslem woman taking charge and initiate a lovable relationship to a man rather the other way around which is usually the standard cliches for all macho driven films coming from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where a Moslem man gets the girl regardless of her ethnicity and origin. Another major factor he adds is simply to show how absolutely not important should the role of a religion be in our times and in 2011, without any disrepect to any religion and that religions should never play a role in affairs of human beings with one another. With such a pretext, Atossa is from the start the unlikely hero of a society whose women showed great courage and bravery during the uprising against the presidential results in Iran in 2009. Atossa sets forward to seek a goal that is a taboo in the world of Islam, and equally so in the faith of the Judaism but continues to go through all the difficulties ahead of her just because she gave her word to her dying brother. However, the story goes far beyond the cliches of wanting to bring these two archfoes enemies closer together in a semi-documentary style of movie making by Daryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
. Atossa arrives in Berlin and starts asking everyone for the address to the grave of "Hitler". She is dressed under an Islamic Veil and is mostly being treated unfairly by everyone she comes across to ask the question. she soon comes to the understanding that she is perhaps in a wrong place, asking the right question from the wrong people at a very wrong timing and being the wrongest person to ask the question at all for she is an Iranian in addition to be a woman under chador
Chador
A chādor or chādar is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many Iranian women and female teenagers in public spaces. Wearing this garment is one possible way in which a Muslim woman can follow the Islamic dress code known as ḥijāb. A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is...
. She goes through many unpleasant situations and even gets into physical confrontations with all sorts of people in the society from the foreigners living in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, to home grown Nazis each and every time she asks where the grave is until she finally gets a hint from the least expected person "a prostitute" who tells here where she might be able to find the address and shows her the Synegouge building in the city and suggests she ask the Grand Rabbi for the whereabouts of the grave in town. Atossa, meets the Rabbi, played by the German actor Vadim Glowna
Vadim Glowna
Vadim Glowna is a German actor and film director. He has appeared in over 150 films and television shows since 1964.He directed the 1983 film Dies rigorose Leben, which won an Honourable Mention at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin...
. The Rabbi takes her to a sight and convinces her of the sight being the right location to look for the grave. He cleverly indicates to her that if she truly looks for the grave of Hitler, then she might as well assume that the whole area and or perhaps the whole Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to be the grave of Hitler, and that she does not have to look for mysterious answers and assume further speculations to continue with her mission.
Atossa is now overjoyed, convinced, and most happy to have found the answer to her first promise and is positively motivated again to continue her mission in order to deliver the second promise. She arrives her hotel room to rest a while, turns on the T.V. screen and is shocked from seeing the shooting to death of Neda
Neda
Neda may refer to:Events* The death of Neda Agha-Soltan during the 2009 Iranian election protests** NedaNet, a project to protect the privacy of the protestors, named in her honor.People* Neda Arneric, Serbian actress...
, the innocent Iranian student during the protests on the streets of Tehran. The horrifying pictures of the final dying moments of Neda takes her by storm. She decidedly and in a daze leaves the hotel and starts a run for freedom alongside the rivers in the city and finally comes to stand on top of the bridge where she is in peace with herself and the world she sees around her. She takes charge and as if deciding to control her own fate from this moment on and start a whole daring, courageous and peaceful new life she commits an act to set herself free from that first rule of clothing that has governed her life style for all her past. Her first step towards her free future is to rid herself from the mandatory Veil around her head. She finally throws the Veil down to the running waters under the bridge and starts a Mona Lisa smile which should also help start a whole new dimension not just for herself but also for all women living in such cultures.
Atossa starts her new life, walks the streets of Berlin in a new mood and sees the forbidden corners of the city as well where naked pictures of women and men are open for public view behind the windows of porno shops and finally enters a disco club. She now drinks shots of Vodka dances impressively and even gets annoyed by some young dancers on the dance floor and is finally rescued and brought back home by the hotel manager who has an eye for her from the first look. The two are to dine later and talk of their mutual interests in things and eventually in each other. However, soon the wonderful dinner date turns bitter as Lars, played by Pierre Kiwitt, proposes to her too early at the dinner table.
The detective "Karlsson" who is commissioned to watch after everything she does from her second day of her arrival in the city is always on their tales until he finally is the witness to a most moving final moments between Atossa and Lars in the last scene of the film. This is also the scene were we find out the hillariously surprising nature about the second promise. The final picture of the film ends gloriously with the Rabbi looking at Atossa and Lars and blessing them from afar.
Cast
- Taeis Farzan
- Marina Welsch
- Pierre Kiwitt
- Vadim GlownaVadim GlownaVadim Glowna is a German actor and film director. He has appeared in over 150 films and television shows since 1964.He directed the 1983 film Dies rigorose Leben, which won an Honourable Mention at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin...
- Helgi Bjornsson
- Daryush ShokofDaryush ShokofDaryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
Political messages
Daryush ShokofDaryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
has just made it public in an open-letter to the world press and film festivals that he has refused to submit Hitler's Grave to the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
60th Berlin International Film Festival
The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to February 21, 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama Apart Together, in competition, while the closing film is Japanese...
, 2010, in protest to the festival selecting again an Iranian film (this time even an Iranian-German, Co-Production) with which he believes the festival openly insults and undermines the struggle of Iranians for freedom from under the Dictatorial rules of Islamic Republic of Iran. The film was rejected by Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
2010 where another Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
-France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
co-production movie by Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
who Shokof suggests is the Regime,s puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
film director was selected in the competition section of the festival. Daryush Shokof repeatedly condemns all festivals that have so vividly ignored the struggle of Iranians for freedom from under the Islamic Republic rule over Iran which he refers to as being one of the most darkest and backwards and inhumane regimes to have ever goverened Iran for over 30 years. During an interview with the German TV channel ARD
ARD
Ard, ARD, Ards or ARDS may refer to:Ard:*Ard or scratch-plough, a type of plough consisting of a simple spike dragged through the soil*Ard, alternate name of Arad, Iran, a city in Fars Province...
and with the respected journalist Henryk Broder
Henryk Broder
Henryk Modest Broder is a Polish born German journalist and author.Broder is known for polemics, columns and comments in written and oral media. Broder wrote for the magazine Der Spiegel as well as its online version and the daily Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. Since 2010 he writes for Die Welt...
Shokof compared the Iranian regime and its dangers to be worse than the Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
with the reasoning that today we have global Internet systems and the world is connected and watching every move everyone makes. Today no one can hide from the truth and say: we did not know. Today, we all know what is happening in Iran and still the whole world sits quiet and does absolutely nothing to rid the world and Iranians from the evil of such a Barbaric Regime called Islamic Republic of Iran.
Kidnapping
Daryush ShokofDaryush Shokof
Daryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
was missing for around 12 days which he said he was kidnapped by four Moslem fanatics who asked him not to show both his two recent films Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan is a feature film by Daryush Shokof about the situations of political prisoners currently in Iran. The film is a semi-documentary picture with images taken from the actual events during the mass protests of the 2009 Iranian presidential election and what happens to some of protesters...
and Hitler's Grave or else he would be dead. He was found at the river side by Rhine River in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
after 12 days in the hands of his captors.
AWARDS LINK
- http://www.hitlersgravefilmawards.com
Hitler's Grave has been submitted for considerations for 7 Oscars to the Academy Awards 2011 by ARRI Group Germany and ITN Distribution, USA in the following categories;
- Best FilmBest filmBest film may refer to:* Films considered the greatest ever* Best Picture , An award for best film such as the BAFTA Award for Best Film or Academy Award for Best Picture and other film awards listed in :Category:Film awards and :Category:Awards for best film....
- Best Director, Daryush ShokofDaryush ShokofDaryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
- Best ActressBest ActressBest Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:-Film award:* Academy Award for Best Actress* Ariel Award for Best Actress...
, Taies Farzan - Best Supporting ActorBest Supporting ActorThis is a list of awards for supporting actor. These are accolades given by a group of film or television professionals in recognition of the work of supporting and character actors...
, Vadim GlownaVadim GlownaVadim Glowna is a German actor and film director. He has appeared in over 150 films and television shows since 1964.He directed the 1983 film Dies rigorose Leben, which won an Honourable Mention at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin... - Best Original Screenplay, Daryush ShokofDaryush ShokofDaryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...
- Best Editing, Daryoush Zandi
- Best story, Daryush ShokofDaryush ShokofDaryush Shokof is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer...