In a fit of calculated desperation, a young woman (Marziyeh Rezaei) fires off several electronic cries-for-help to celebrated Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari (playing herself). When her pleas go unanswered, Rezaei construes the rejection as an excuse to document her hanging — in chilling long-take — and implicate Jafari in the process. What follows is an unplanned day trip from Jafar Panahi, the Iranian Taxi driver once again behind the wheel, cast as “Himself,” and this time chauffeuring Jafari along the Turkish border, looking to uncover either a corpse or a selfish prank. When it comes to telling a story with a camera, Neil Armstrong has nothing on Panahi’s exploration of space. This marks the first Panahi film in many where the director — previously placed under house arrest as an enemy of the state — was able to film outside the tight confines of his home and auto. Apart from the convincing cellphone-suicide that opens the picture, this is Panahi’s cheeriest, most upbeat film since Offside. (2018) — Scott Marks