He doesn't even ask me to stay. He doesn't even refuse to divorce. After having lived together for 14 years....
Simin (Leila Hatami) describes Nader (Peyman Moadi) as a "good, decent person". Yet she wants a divorce as she wants to leave her home country and settle down abroad. While that's not a choice for Nader, who has to look after his father who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Asghar Farhadi's A Separation is a drama that's set in contemporary Iran and takes a look at how two perfectly nice people can end up not wanting to stay together anymore.
As the magistrate denies the divorce due to lack of sufficient grounds, Simin goes off to her mother's place for two weeks, while their 11 year old daughter would stay with Nader. Nader arranges for a caretaker, Razieh, who'd look after his father while he is away during the day. Razieh is a pregnant woman who has to commute a long distance for the job. She comes along with her little daughter, Somayeh (Kimia Hosseini) as she tries to support the family while her husband (played by Shahab Hosseini) is unemployed.
While this would be true of any ordinary family, a sequence of events follow that spiral into an absolute mess. As a conflict arises between the two families following Nader's accusation of Razieh for stealing, we also get to witness a class war amongst other not-so-trivial matters. While all the characters have good intentions, being completely honest is not such an easy choice they are faced with. To lie or not to lie...
As the events unfold, we again see the couple faced with the possibility of divorce. Only the roles have reversed and there's more misunderstanding. One person's offer of help can be a question of honor for another. Overall, A Separation is a brilliant portrayal of how often miscommunication and ordinary interpersonal conflicts can spiral completely out of proportion while destroying trust and relationships. Easily, my movie of the year!
Rating - 9/10
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