Review of A Separation (2011) by Everett J — 02 Sep 2012

I don't mind foreign language movies at all, and in fact one of my favorite movies of the year so far is a french movie called "Intouchables.". Every year around award season, I try to watch as many nominated movies as possible.

I had tried to watch "A Separation" a few times, but the copy wasn't great, so I opted to wait, and it was worth the wait. This is a drama made in Iran, that is very compelling. It revolves around a married couple who are separating because the husband wants to stay with his Alzheimer stricken father and his wife wants to move on.

He hires a young pregnant woman to help him out while he works, since his wife has moved out. One day the he comes home early to find his father face down and tied to a bed, but the woman is gone. When she returns they get into a heated argument, and she falls down, and suffers a miscarriage.

From there it becomes like a mystery, as to whether or not he caused the miscarriage, and the effects it has on their families. In a lot of the reviews for this I had read it was like a Hitchcock movies, and in some respects I can see that, but at the same time this is a drama, not a thriller/suspense movie.

It's well acted, and the way the movie looks is beautiful. It drags a bit in the middle, but stick with it. It's nice to see a movie involving Iran that doesn't involve terrorists, oil, or war.

This is a story that could just as easily been told in America. Good movie that if you don't mind subtitles you should check out.