A Separation
A Separation is really about as perfect as a movie can be, life goes as well as it can for a typical Iranian family until the wife decides to get a separation. The movie begins with both of them stating their reasons to the judge : We don't see the judge, they are speaking to us the viewers , this technique used most effectively in the very influential film Rashomon, is brilliant and from there on the linear but fast cinematic approach takes over like a hurricane and never stops. There aren't enough words to describe the human emotions so well depicted by all the characters, my favourite is by Shahab Hosseini (Hojjat) who is ready to sin for the money, but at the same time cannot once he knows the other version of the truth. As they all go through this traumatic experience , the story told as I mentioned before is so real, like a morally complex gut punch, the screenplay so elegant that at the end which contains the most harrowing personal cruel moment for the daughter as the judge asks her to decide which parent she wants to stay with and she keeps saying yes, yes, yes as the judge keeps asking ?
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*Through his expert direction, Farhadi masterfully creates a sense of empathy for each one of the characters, despite the complex nature of their conflict. Indeed there are no antagonists in this film; most of the characters are seemingly good people and are simply striving to survive against life’s challenges. What distinguishes A Separation from other family dramas is the fact that it is a portrayal of the experience of an entire nation, contained in an engaging story, based on the realities of present-day Iranian society. Farhadi keeps escalating, de-escalating and moderating the arguments, with the police now involved and Nader potentially facing a term for murdering the unborn child. What holds the viewer, apart from Farhadi’s inherent understanding of the mechanics of drama, is his use of narrative ambiguity and deliberate omission of key information. This puts the audience in a slightly stronger position than the police and the judge but not that much more. Is one of the parties lying and which one – or are they both a result of mutual unavoidable harm? Eventually we find out.
Here goes another masterpiece from Iran