A Separation
An Iranian couple plans to flee the country with their young daughter, but finds their marriage suffering after their plans fall through due to an unforeseen complication. Simin, her husband Nader, and their daughter Termeh were all set to leave Iran when Nader impulsively cancels the plans to care for his ailing father. Incensed, Simin attempts to sue for divorce, but finds herself forced to move back in with her parents when the family court rejects her request. In a naïve attempt to reunite her fractured family, Termeh subsequently moves back in with her father as her grandfather slips deeper into the throes of Alzheimer's disease. But when the demands of caring for his father become too great a burden for one man to carry, Nader hires Razieh as a nurse. At first Razieh seems like the answer to all of Nader's prayers; little does he realize she is carrying a child, and that she's been keeping her career a secret from her husband. Then, one day, Nader returns home to find his father bound to a table and Razieh nowhere in sight. In the explosive confrontation that follows, Termeh sees a side of her father she never knew existed, and Nader's rage threatens tragic consequences for all involved. more..
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Shahab Hosseini
A Separation is totally foreign and achingly familiar. It's a thrilling domestic drama that offers acute insights into human motivations and behavior as well as a compelling look at what goes on behind a particular curtain that almost never gets raised.
Sophisticated and universal yet deeply intimate, A Separation is an exquisitely conceived family drama that has the coiled power of a top-notch thriller.
The members of the cast represent ensemble, naturalistic acting at its finest.
Farhadi is no mere formalist. His film is a spiritual investigation into the rise of women and the descent of male privilege in Iran, and a look at the toll that has taken. In a movie of flawless acting, it is Moadi - terse, proud, angry, haunted - who shows us that rare thing: a soul in transition.
Moaadi is the standout here, subtly evoking filial worry and fatherly pride in one scene, popping off with rage in another: He's believably decent, believably flawed. A Separation touches on religious strictures and the role of women in Iran, but it does so with a light hand and not a twitch of condemnation.
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Academy Awards (2012)
Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina (2012)
Best Film
Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2011)
Best Director
Asian Film Awards (2012)
Best Film Not in the English Language
BAFTA Awards (2012)