Une séparation

And it comes from Iran. The first thing you read on the screen is "In the name of God". Well, anyway it's the best story, the best cutting, the best actors you've seen for long. And few films are that stomach-turning, although there's hardly any physical violence.

A wife wants to go abroad. Her husband can't because he wants to take of his senile father. The wife moves and the husband hires a woman to look after his father.

And then the screw turns, although most of the story takes place in everyday Iranian life. The center of it all is perhaps the daughter, who is nearly teared apart. But it takes time until you realize that. Anyway, I can almost guarantee you sit the film through, until the final post-texts has passed.

So amazingly clever.

If mainstream cinema leaves you soulless, see this film.

If you have a modicum of intelligence, see this film.

If you like great acting and directing, see this film.

If you like great writing and editing, see this film.

If you have an interest in law, see this film.

If you are a parent, see this film.

A Separation is not harrowing or depressing. Fear not as I did before. If you don't like subtitles, you will forget they are there. Do not read any more detailed reviews. Go without preconception. A Separation deserves all the plaudits it is getting and deserves a much wider audience. Minimalistic and economic, a Separation is one of the finest, most chiselled pieces of cinema of this millennium.

Today I had the pleasure of watching A Separation, a foreign film that has been critically-acclaimed for some time now. What we have here is definitely one of the year's best films. Intriguing, captivating, and ambiguous.

I had no idea that this was going to turn out to be some sort of court drama. I just want to first talk about the direction. Farhadi masterfully constructs these characters, and we enter into a state in their lives where we serve as some sort of observant. Even before the actual plot of the film comes along, his tight screenplay and direction leave us trying to astutely observe what is happening around every corner of the frame. We barely know these characters, and yet, tension is arising from the simplest of every-day matters. Why? Why indeed, as it becomes apparent, the film gets more serious in its plot. It is here that the real reason as to why we are observing moments of these characters' lives comes into focus. Questions arise, as to who did what, and who saw what, and who heard this or that. The film takes a neutral ground in all of this, and yet we ourselves can't help but try to memorize even the smallest of details that could perhaps help us out in figuring out the actual truth. The film never judges its characters, which is why we also have to be sort of neutral in all of this, even when we don't want to, even when we think we know what really happened. This is a mystery in the most unusual and most natural way. We are hooked into the film's plot line, and as much as the film won't let us go, we don't want to let go. We want to hang on and catch up with it, and not miss one single beat of what is happening. Such precise and balanced filmmaking.

I do want to take note of the fantastic performances. The entire cast is wonderful, especially the three main leads. Not one single moment is wasted in their portrayals. Overall, this is a near-perfect film, one of the most intriguing and engaging films of the year, and the ending serves entirely to what had come before, and is fully satisfying.

This is the first Iranian film I've seen, and I'm recommending it to every-one I know. It is so well-crafted; the twists of the plot throw up new moral dilemmas for all the protagonists, which are explored sensitively and without judgement - so refreshingly unlike mainstream American films. I felt sympathy for all the characters, even the threatening Hodjat, full of misplaced rage which often erupts volcanically. And as a footnote, the film felt like an intimate view into a society that our news media portray as monochromatic and extremely foreign. (I am writing this a few days after the UK embassy in Tehran was ransacked)

I'm an Iranian, but I've never been interested in Iranian cinema. I only watch Iranian films when they win awards or receive international recognition. I'm a fan of Kiarostami and Majidi, but I can't really say that I like all of their films. I watched Farhady's previous film (About Elly) about a year ago, and the first thing which struck me was how culturally detached the movie was in its depiction of an event. At the time, I believed this to have been the cause of this director's success. Watching Nader and Simin, however, proved that I was terribly mistaken.

Asghar Farhady's obsession with the concept of judgment is once again the driving force behind his latest feature. The life-like depiction of the Iranian courtroom (which is in no way impartial) places the audience in the Judge's seat from the very beginning. The extremely believable acting and insanely complex script compel the viewer to make up his/her mind just like when reading a court case. As for the screenplay, I'm almost certain the events in this film actually happened in real life, because in no way could one fabricate such a chaotically complex series of events, so beautifully woven into a coherent whole.

Despite being very Iranian in its narrative style and its depiction of Iranian culture (the sanctity of Family, faith, commitment towards parents and married life), I believe that this film could easily appeal to the Western audiences just like a film by Inaritu or Haneke (although I'm pretty sure it won't be nominated for an Oscar for political reasons).

After seeing About Elly, I thought Farhady's success was just a one-time fling, but coming out of the theater, having watched Nader and Simin, I was proud to have another Iranian director added to my international list of favorites.