Title: A Separation (in Persian: جدایی نادر از سیمین Jodái-e Náder az Simin, "The Separation
of Nader from Simin").
Director: Asghar Farhadi.
Cast: Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini.
Country: Iran.
Year: 2011
There is a moment when we are growing up, that the illusion of
perfection falls off our parents and we realize that they are no more than
human. To be honest, I went to watch “A Separation” as a result of the Oscar
win and didn’t know what to expect. Needless to say, the movie surpassed my
expectations and touched me profoundly.
“A Separation” tells the story of Nader, Simin and Termeh a family that
is on the verge of collapse. When Simin decides to move out of her home and
file for divorce, Nader has to hire a complete stranger to help him care for
his father who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, unexpected
complications arise, in which the solutions happen to be a struggle between
what is morally right and what is best for their family.
Asghar Farhdi is a director that has treated the theme of divorce in a
complicated cultural situation before in his highly acclaimed movie “About Elly”.
In “A Separation” he takes it again, but puts in a twist that makes that human
connection even harder to achieve. He presents us the human dilemma between
forgiveness and pride in which love doesn’t even enter the equation anymore.
It is a movie filled with human, less than perfect characters and the
skeleton of the plot resides there. Without people making mistakes, lying to
cover them and being afraid, human connections and family life would be easy.
But universally it is not so; we are seemingly equipped to sabotage our most
important relationships until there is no way of fixing them. And that is why
the film resonates in any part of the world, because it is a universal reality.
One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is the many parallels
we find between parents and their sons and daughters. Throughout the movie, we
get to see all these relationships enter a state of crisis. In each step of
life and in a very particular way, Temeh, Nader and Somayeh realize their
parents are not perfect and they are forced to let go of their image of them to
fully accept the reality of the new one they are aware of.
The script is brilliant, managing a game of who is telling the truth and
who isn’t. It is not a particularly complicated plot, and yet, it keeps you
interested with the complex rich narrative. The important things in the story
are the emotions that the characters are dealing with, which are very
skillfully portrayed by the talented cast Farhdi chose.
The photography is really good, because it’s fluid and sets a good pace
that puts us inside the action. It is really simple and clean, but it achieves
greatness in many scenes –the symbolism in the last shot being one. It doesn’t
interrupt us so that we can really connect and feel this people are real
without sacrificing the aesthetics of the film.
“A Separation” is a film that overcomes the cultural barriers we have by
taking a universal theme and appealing to all who watch it. With amazing
performances, an exceptional script and flawless direction, it achieves to make
us see how complicated being part of a family and a society is.
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