'A Separation' is quite simply one of the best films I think I've ever seen. Its a film you can't think stop thinking about, and it seems to live with you afterwards.
The film opens with a married couple filing for divorce. Their names are Nader and Simin. Simin, the wife, wants to leave Iran to go to American with their daughter Termeh. She states that she doesn't want her daughter growing up in "the circumstances" of Iran. Nader, the husband, says he can't leave because his ill-father still lives with them in Iran. Right in the opening scene, we as the audience are already forced into a challenging moral dilemma. This is the one of many moral questions we are asked during 'A Separation.'
Soon Simin goes to live with her mother, and Nader and Termeh stay in their house. To look out for his father, Nader hires Razieh, a devout follower of Islam who belongs to a lower class. One day when Nader and Termeh come home, they find Nader's father on the ground tied to the bed. Soon Razieh returns to the house. Nader forces Razieh and her daughter out of his house.
Now it may clearly seem that Razieh is in the wrong. But there is still so much to learn about the characters and the mysteries revolving around this simple event. We learn that Razieh had a miscarriage, and Nader is accused of murdering her unborn child when he forced her out of the house. She claims Nader pushed her and she fell down the steps.
'A Separation' is a very character-driven film, but one thing special about it is its original narrative. We don't see all of what happens, and new pieces of information pop up organically and in inventive ways. 'A Separation' almost plays out as some sort of murder-mystery.
In this film, there are no heroes or villains. These are just flawed everyday people. Asghar Farhadi does a great job of bouncing sympathy between his characters. At one point in the film, you may feel strongly about one character, but when you learn something important about them, you feel a different way. Everything is grey. There's no simplicity. And that is why 'A Separation' is a complex masterpiece. Its a film that forces you to determine what you think what is right, and what is wrong.
The film opens with a married couple filing for divorce. Their names are Nader and Simin. Simin, the wife, wants to leave Iran to go to American with their daughter Termeh. She states that she doesn't want her daughter growing up in "the circumstances" of Iran. Nader, the husband, says he can't leave because his ill-father still lives with them in Iran. Right in the opening scene, we as the audience are already forced into a challenging moral dilemma. This is the one of many moral questions we are asked during 'A Separation.'
Soon Simin goes to live with her mother, and Nader and Termeh stay in their house. To look out for his father, Nader hires Razieh, a devout follower of Islam who belongs to a lower class. One day when Nader and Termeh come home, they find Nader's father on the ground tied to the bed. Soon Razieh returns to the house. Nader forces Razieh and her daughter out of his house.
Now it may clearly seem that Razieh is in the wrong. But there is still so much to learn about the characters and the mysteries revolving around this simple event. We learn that Razieh had a miscarriage, and Nader is accused of murdering her unborn child when he forced her out of the house. She claims Nader pushed her and she fell down the steps.
'A Separation' is a very character-driven film, but one thing special about it is its original narrative. We don't see all of what happens, and new pieces of information pop up organically and in inventive ways. 'A Separation' almost plays out as some sort of murder-mystery.
In this film, there are no heroes or villains. These are just flawed everyday people. Asghar Farhadi does a great job of bouncing sympathy between his characters. At one point in the film, you may feel strongly about one character, but when you learn something important about them, you feel a different way. Everything is grey. There's no simplicity. And that is why 'A Separation' is a complex masterpiece. Its a film that forces you to determine what you think what is right, and what is wrong.