"A Separation": The Truth About Lying in Iran

I first heard about "A Separation" early last year from an Iranian contact who spoke of the great success the film had had in its native Iran. Later that year I was able to attend the film's only screening at the 2011 AFI Fest. The screening was full and at the end of it the audience clapped enthusiastically, such response was not out of place. "A Separation" is one of those films that come once in a while, a flawless world class MASTERPIECE. A work that is executed with the technical expertise comparable to any major' studio's production, with a script that is layered with meaningful questions about morality, and the importance of the truth. Having said this, the film is so engaging and believable because of the society it takes place in. Yes, it speaks of global issues, but a film like this could only exist under the spectrum of Iranian society.

 Written, produced, and directed by Asghar Farhadi, the film has a simple premise that turns into a mystery of trues and lies, family honor and fear of God. When Nader (Peyman Moaadi) refuses to follow his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) abroad, she decides to file for divorce. This becomes "the separation" that unravels the plot. Since Simin is moving out, Nadir is forced to hire a woman, Razieh (Sareh Bayat), to take care of his senile father while he is at work, and his daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) is at school. After a couple days, Nader comes to find his elderly dad tied up and locked in the house with no signs of Razieh. When the care taker is back, her and Nader argue and he throws her out. Now here is where the story actually takes another dimension. When Razieh claims that she was pregnant and lost her child due to the fight with Nader, the former is charged with murder and a legal and religious battle begins to make the truth come to light.

The cast is just superb, Sarina Farhadi stands out as a young actress playing Termeh, she carries the weight of the drama and the separation between her parents in the midst of all the disputes. Every scene and dialogue line are written to place the characters in a moral dilemma of what is right or wrong. When is lying justified? Is civil law more important than religious mandates? The film strays away from what most people perceived as modern Iranian cinema, always focusing on the rural and impoverished side of Iranian society. In "A Separation" we observed the troubles of a middle class Iranian family, and how the context of the very restrictive and religiously biased  Iranian society shapes their decisions.

It is outstanding that after watching the film for the third time I still feel shocked in the more poignant and revealing moments of the story. Although it is a long film (just over 2 hours) it flies by right in front of you. With a very minimalistic, but still beautiful cinematography, and an editing job that just makes the film flow. The camera follows the characters in way that feels almost as a documentary, and then at times just stands and waits behind a mirror or glass to add a layer of beautiful separation between the audience and their lives. Some scenes that take place in Nadir's car feel as an homage to Kiarostami's obsession with the very intimate conversations people have while in their cars. All in all the film feels so meticulously crafted, and it drags you in to wondering what the truth really is.

Farhadi's masterpiece portrays a separation not only between Nader and Simin, but between modern Iran and its unmovable Islamic traditions. A separation between a developing middle class and the hopeless working families. The characters in the film live their lives ruled by different and contrasting moral codes, and the decision of the truth must satisfy them all, and that is where the conflict arouses, a conflict that shows us how diverse Iranian society is, even with all its restrictions that attempt to make homogeneous. The last shot of the film is just Farhadi's way to put a golden seal on the story, completely making the separation tangible, the main characters together but separated in the same room.

"A Separation" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, rare for a foreign film. It took the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, the Golden Bear in Berlin for Best Film, the Silver Bears for acting, the Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film, and a huge array of awards. Out now on Blu-ray and DVD. If is not obvious yet this was my favorite film last year and it gets a Grade A++. Masterpiece.