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| Leila Hatami and Peyman Moadi in this powerful drama. |
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Produced by Asghar Farhadi
Written by Asghar Farhadi
Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Saren Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, and Merila Zarei
****
In Asghar Farhadi's Oscar-winning drama, two families collide when a murder charge is brought against Nader (Moadi), the father of one of them. Razieh (Bayat), who cared for Nader's senile father (Shahbazi) for a few days, had a miscarriage right after she was fired. The question is: Did she lose the child when Nader argued with her for tying his father up and abandoning him? Or, did she lose the baby some other way? Razieh and her husband Hojjat (S. Hosseini) claim that Nader pushed her, causing her to fall, and has committed murder. Nader, meanwhile, brings charges against Razieh for the abuse of his father. In the midst of this legal battle, Nader is living with his daughter Termeh (Farhadi) and ill father, while his wife Simin (Hatami) is seeking a divorce and wants to take their daughter away. So, who is telling the truth, if anybody, about the argument and the miscarriage? Facts are twisted and covered up, as the families try to reconcile their desperate situations.
As the material would suggest, this film is brimming with emotions and features sublime performances from the ensemble cast. Farhadi relies on the actors and his unyielding script to achieve the desired dramatic intensity. There are no tricks, no gimmicks, as he has no need to show off. The soundtrack is very quiet, and the handheld camerawork is unobtrusive, putting the burden on the performers to convey the director's vision. All of the actors truly live on screen in these roles, which is the highest praise I can give. With the great number of emotional scenes in the film, they are so natural, so unperturbed by the requirements of this intense story. Instead of jumping off the screen and declaring "I'm acting here! I'm acting here!" (I'm looking at you, Daniel Day-Lewis), each performer lends a wonderful authenticity to his or her character, playing these moments as genuine crises rather than cheap imitations thereof. This remarkable film is packed with great drama and top-notch performances, and it proves to be one of last year's best films.
As the material would suggest, this film is brimming with emotions and features sublime performances from the ensemble cast. Farhadi relies on the actors and his unyielding script to achieve the desired dramatic intensity. There are no tricks, no gimmicks, as he has no need to show off. The soundtrack is very quiet, and the handheld camerawork is unobtrusive, putting the burden on the performers to convey the director's vision. All of the actors truly live on screen in these roles, which is the highest praise I can give. With the great number of emotional scenes in the film, they are so natural, so unperturbed by the requirements of this intense story. Instead of jumping off the screen and declaring "I'm acting here! I'm acting here!" (I'm looking at you, Daniel Day-Lewis), each performer lends a wonderful authenticity to his or her character, playing these moments as genuine crises rather than cheap imitations thereof. This remarkable film is packed with great drama and top-notch performances, and it proves to be one of last year's best films.
Oscar Tally: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay; Win for Best Foreign Language Film
I have been looking forward to this film for a long time, though I have a feeling it's going to be emotional grueling. It's among the "saved" items on my Netflix queue. It bodes well that you liked it, since I tend to agree with your opinions on movies. Except for the fact that I really like Daniel Day-Lewis. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaha. I don't hate DDL, but his style of acting gets on my nerves at times, particularly his performance in There Will Be Blood. :)
DeleteA Separation is one of my favourite films - I loved it so much! Glad you loved it too! Very true - the script work is phenomenal!
ReplyDeleteIt's terrific, isn't it? Great call by the Academy.
DeleteThis film blew me away. It was everything it was hyped up to be, and that is rare these days.
ReplyDeleteVery true. So glad it won the Oscar. I slightly prefer Certified Copy, but it was still a much-deserved win.
DeleteHave you seen Mysteries of Lisbon yet? If not, Netflix it. Seriously...it's brilliant.
DeleteNot seen it yet. It's on my watchlist though.
DeleteI haven't seen Mysteries of Lisbon either, I found it on youtube today:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xditAy62sDk
Haha. Thanks, Chris, but there's no way I can watch a film THAT long on youtube. :)
DeleteIs this an Iranian film? I've been wanting to see this for a while. I saw an Iran-themed film a while back called 'Not Without My Daughter' starring Alfred Molina and it was so heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteAhah, interesting that you mentioned DDL's method acting. I don't mind it so much but I get what you mean. There's a fine line when it became 'over acting.' I much prefer the understated style of acting myself.
Yeah, this is an Iranian film. It's very moving. I'll have to check "Not Without My Daughter" out.
DeleteI can take some overacting, and some performances even require it. DDL just goes overboard sometimes.
Good review! The first 30 min or so were a bit slow, but I loved the twists and turns of the story in A Separation.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those oscar predictions that everyone got right, even though strangely few people had viewed the other nominees for foreign film!
I plan to take another closer look at the important scenes of the accident for my 2nd viewing.
ps I agree with Ruth, Not Without My Daughter (1991) is good (don't believe the low ratings on IMDB and RT)
Thanks! The twists and turns were wonderful, and I want to give the film another look myself.
DeleteThat always seems to happen with the Foreign Language Film category.
I've added it to my watchlist. Don't worry. I don't let ratings on IMDB or RT influence my decision to watch a film or not. :)
This was the cleverest movie I have yet seen, comparable to a world class novel in scope and reach. So many national, social, moral and religious issues laid absolutely bare in just two hours!
DeleteIt's a brilliant film on all levels. Thanks for stopping by.
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