A Separation

[3.0 stars] [IMDB Link]

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This Iranian movie from 2011 won the Oscar for "Best Foreign Language Film of the Year". As I type, it's number 108 on IMDB's list of the top 250 movies of all time. And, not for the first time, I find myself on the Philistine side: what am I missing? It's OK, mind you. But if it were filmed in Trenton instead of Tehran, I'm guessing the hoopla and huzzahs would be considerably muted.

It's the story of a disintegrating Iranian marriage; as the movie opens, the lovely Simin is pleading with an offscreen magistrate to grant her a divorce from hubby Nader. The problem is that she wants to leave Iran for some other country; Nader refuses, because his father has Alzheimer's disease, and he needs to stay to care for him.

Simin moves out, so Nader has to hustle to provide care for his father. He hires a devout Muslim lady, Razieh, who totes along her toddler. It soon becomes clear that Razieh is in over her head. Conflict develops with Nader, which leads to tragedy, misunderstanding, deception, additional family strife, and legal proceedings.

Totally watchable, and it's interesting to get a eye into current-day Iranian culture. Just not as insanely great as I hoped it would be.

Although the film is not overtly political, its honesty put it out of the comfort zone of Iranian authorities. At one point they forced a halt to production. A ceremony scheduled to celebrate the Academy award was cancelled. At last report, the director, Asghar Farhadi, was out of Iran and had no plans to return.


Last Modified 2024-01-28 7:51 AM EDT