Rated PG-13 (Mature Thematic Material)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, and Merila Zare'i
TECHNICALLY THIS IS STILL A 2011 MOVIE. HITS PHILY THEATERS JANUARY 27
A Separation is a powerful, riveting, and unforgettable drama. Don't let the fact that it's Persian and features no famous people and is so unknown prevent you from seeing it. This is without a doubt one of the best movies of 2011. It's such a great accomplishment for movies to have no action yet be so gripping. A Separation is like a play; it features only dialogue. However its story is sooooooooooo absorbing there is never a dull second in it. It's a movie about a conflict and who's to blame for it. What's terrific is that you somewhat care for everybody in the fight. It's like a thriller in that you don't know who the culprit is until the very end.
The opening of the film (which mimics the extraordinary opening of The Social Network) is just plain brilliant and sets the fast-paced tone of the entire movie. Nader (Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) are speaking with a judge about getting a divorce. Simin wants to leave Tehran with her daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) but Nader doesn't want to because he doesn't want to leave his father who's dreadfully suffering from Alzheimer's. Instantly there's a conflict and we don't know who to take sides with. Nader obviously has a point. It's his father after all is it fair for him to just leave him? At the same time Simin even mentions that his father doesn't even know who his son is anymore. As horrible as it may sound is there really a point for Nader to stay with his father after all? Shouldn't he just be in a hospital? Once the title for the movie comes up after the talk with judge you instantly go WOW. The dialogue is that riveting.
So Simin leaves the house but doesn't leave Tehran and goes to live with her mother. Nader needs someone new to look after his father while he's at work so he hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a pregnant, shy, and poor woman who has to bring her daughter with her to work because she can't leave her at home and even her angry husband Houjat (Shahab Hosseini) can't find a job. And unfortunately that's all I wanna say about the plot. I feel like I've already said too much. Another big conflict happens that sets off another conflict and then the entire movie just gets more brilliant scene after scene.
The movie's also just tremendously well-acted. It's always a great experience for me to see people pretend to be a family so realistically on screen when they're from a different country that I'd never consider visiting (in this case, Iran). I know a lot of people I know will not go see this movie because it's too foreign for them. It's their loss. A Separation is just riveting. I know I've said that already but that's the best and only way to describe the movie. Its story grips you and its fast-paced dialogue keeps you pinned to your seat.
