Review of A Separation (2011) by Marcdoyle — 31 Dec 2011

A truly outstanding movie that ratchets up the tension from jump. The acting is uniformly excellent - it presents such interesting windows into the lives of each character. The glimpse into the Iranian legal system is incredibly interesting.

What I initially considered to be organized chaos actually started to make some sense by the end, as I loosed up on my western notions of how these disputes should be resolved. It puts an incredible amount of power into a single magistrate's hands, but it sure does cut down on the red tape! Though trusting the suspect in a murder case not to talk to a key witness as he summons her from the hallway of the courtroom seemed a bridge too far.

Then again, the judge seemed to know how to deal with the possibility of corruption in that process. The notion of honor, as reflected in honesty - from citizen to society, and from father to daughter - transcends the legal process.

At least in this case, among this group of peole. I would have liked to have known a bit more about the mother's motivation to leave the country, but it's not something that detracted from the film. This is an easy recommendation.