A Separation

2011 Drama

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

Reviews

  • 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.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • Sophisticated and universal yet deeply intimate, A Separation is an exquisitely conceived family drama that has the coiled power of a top-notch thriller.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    29 November 2012

  • The members of the cast represent ensemble, naturalistic acting at its finest.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    29 November 2012

  • 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.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    29 November 2012

  • 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.

    Amy Biancolli - The San Francisco Chronicle

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • 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)