Movies: A Separation
Friday, February 17, 2012
Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Moadi) each fight for what they want as their marriage dissolves.
Photo: Habib Madjidi/Sony Pictures Classics
The official entry from Iran for the Best Foreign Language Film and a contender for Best Original Screenplay, A Separation is in a foreign language but tells a story familiar to American audiences — the story of a couple in a bad marriage.
The film opens in a courtroom. Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave Iran with her daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). Her husband, Nader (Peyman Moadi) wants to sty to care for his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. They quietly argue and the judge denies Simin’s request. She goes to live with her family while their daughter chooses to stay with her father.
Nader hires Razieh (Serah Bayat) to care for Termeh while he is at work. Following an incident better seen in the film than explained here, Nader is back before a judge, arguing with Razieh and her husband Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini).
Writer-director Asghar Farhadi shows us a very modern Iran, where women wear the traditional hijab (head scarf) but are still outwardly westernized. Here, Simin in a physician. And, certainly, the story of a couple breaking up and the deleterious effect on their daughter — which both parents seem to ignore — is universal. So is the ambiance in the government bureaucracy, disorganized and officious.
A Separation involves us with the lives of these people who value their privacy and self-control, even when their world is collapsing. It is an intriguing story, very well done and one that deserves to be seen.
[Note: According to two emails from Sony Pictures Classics reps, this film is opening in Las Vegas today, February 17, but I haven’t been able to find it at any theater. If you come across it, go see it.)
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ...
