|
A Separation
| Released |
1 July 2011 |
| Director |
Asghar Farhadi |
Starring
|
Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi |
| Writer(s) |
Asghar Farhadi |
| Producer(s) |
Asghar Farhadi |
| Origin |
Iran |
| Running Time |
123 minutes |
| Genre |
Drama |
| Rating |
TBC |
|
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Divorce – Iran-style.
Western filmmakers often grumble about how hard it is to get their films made. They complain about getting the money together, getting studio backing and getting distribution deals etc. etc. However they have it easy compared to filmmakers in other parts of the world. Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi found the financing for his new film quite easily after the success of his previous effort About Elly, which won him the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival two years ago.
It was one of several awards for the film, but a speech he made at one of the ceremonies upset the ruling Iranian regime and he was banned from making his new film. However after he apologised the ban was lifted and A Separation was a hit at this year’s Berlin Film Festival winning the Silver Bear for best film as well as awards for both leading actors.
The film tells the story of Nader (Peiman Ma'adi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) who in the opening scene argue their case before a faceless and unsympathetic judge. Simin is unhappy with life under the current regime and wants to leave the country with her daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). However her husband Nader refuses to agree as he wants to stay in Iran to care for his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) who has Alzheimer’s disease. So the couple decide to separate and Simin moves out of the family apartment although Termeh elects to stay there with her father. With both of them gone all day, Nader needs to find someone to look after his father so he hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a pregnant women who comes to the flat with her young daughter Somayeh (Kimia Hosseini) in tow. Razieh’s unemployed husband Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini) is struggling to pay his debts and is in and out of jail. A deeply devout Muslim, Razieh is unprepared for the realities of dealing with an old man with Alzheimer’s.
She tries to get her husband into the job instead of her but circumstances prevent this from happening and then events occur which cause a tragedy. The authorities become involved and the resulting legal battle causes huge stress to all involved, especially Hodjat who becomes increasingly unstable and desperate.
This is a top quality human drama that refuses to suggest or accept any easy answers. All of the main protagonists are flawed in their own way and make mistakes, yet Farhadi never demonises any of them. They are simply shown as ordinary people struggling in tough circumstances. Obviously made with restrictions, the film still does present a convincing picture of life in Iran. It also illustrates the differences between the middle-class Nader and Simin and the working class couple they come into conflict with. It shows up the legal system as being adversarial and uncaring. Babak Karimi (who’s a dead ringer for Rob Reiner) plays the long-suffering judge who seems himself beaten into indifference by the system.
The cast is uniformly excellent and the story is heart wrenching. Admittedly, it is hard work at times as there are no humorous interludes to break the tension.
This is nonetheless a classy piece of filmmaking although not, admittedly, a Saturday night movie.
-
Jim O’Connor |
