Review of A Separation (2011) by Maksim B — 07 Oct 2012

A Separation is a mesmerizing and captivating piece of art. An exquisite movie about life and relations it bears the complexity of our real lives. Exciting, moving and controversial, it stretches the boundaries of morality, duty and truth to a level at which this all seems to be a story happening behind the door of your neigbors.

Set in contemporary Iran, the movie starts in a trivial way: driven by the social ,religious and economic difficulties in the country, a woman is striving for the best for her family and wants to leave the country. Led by his love for his Alzheimer-sick father, Nader (Peyman Moadi) refuses to follow his life. And just when it all seems to be a painful movie about a family getting torn apart, director Asghar Farhadi brings the actual central point of the story. A Separation quickly becomes fast-paced movie, with elements of thriller and mystery. Yet, at every single moment of the movie,it remains shockingly normal, simple and realistic.

After the introduction of the criminal part in the movie, director Asghar Farhadi builds up a powerful and brilliant story which delves deep into questions such as : what is moral, what is truth and where are the limits of honesty. A Separation becomes much more than a movie, it is a study of characters, of interpersonal conflicts, of multi-layer personal drammas and of a society having its own problems. The clashes between rational thinking and family love, pragmatism and religion are heart-breaking.

Farhadi succeeds to increase the dramatic and realistic feeling in the audience by his choice of very intimate camera-work. It is as if the main characters Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi and Sarina Farhadi are talking to the audience and not to themselves. Their facial expressions and eye-contact with the camera make watching the whole movie a moving dramatic experience.

As a person who has been in Iran more than dozen times, I have always felt connected to Tehran, to the Iranian culture and the people there. Despite the fact that A Separation is strictly non-polictal movie, some political nuances are to be felt. The contradiction between progressive thinking (Simin and Nader's family) as an embodyment of the Green Movement and the rural, economically suffering part of the society (Hojat and Razieh's family) as en embodiment of the conservative supporters of the regime is striking. The whole conflict happens amidst the Iranian social and economical reality in which daily clashes of classes have become a painful part of life.

The movies goes far and just when we are expecting the ending, director Farhadi leaves us with an open end. It is for the audience to decide on the last issue, on the last open question. And yet, the audience would feel satisfied and fascinated with the story, with the end.

Truly, A Separation could be labeled a masterpiece. It is in very rare cases as this one, when somebody succeeds to create such a realistic, and complex human drama. This is a pure cinematographic delight. A must see !