The Salesman-2016
Director Asghar Farhadi
Starring Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti
Scott’s Review #668
Reviewed August 2, 2017
Grade: A
The Salesman is the latest film directed by Asghar Farhadi to win the coveted Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. 2011’s A Separation also won the crown, and 2013’s The Past, nestled between the other films, is nearly as good.
All contain mesmerizing, gripping plot elements that leave audiences talking long after the film ends. That is what good storytelling is all about.
Rich with empathetic elements and crisp writing, Farhadi has become one of my favorite international filmmakers.
Each of his pictures is as powerful in humanity as its counterparts.
Along with fellow contemporary Claude Chabrol (admittedly around a lot longer), similarities abound between the two creative maestros in thrills, mystery, and shifting character allegiances.
I love how both directors use the same actors in their films.
Farhadi incorporates Arthur Miller’s classic stage production Death of a Salesman into the story. The play and the film contain similar themes- humiliation and secrets.
The young, good-looking couple Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) are community theater actors living in metropolitan Tehran, Iran.
They have wonderful friends and companions and are popular with their close neighbors and theater buddies. Emad, a well-liked high school teacher, and Rana, a housewife, make a perfect couple, but their bond will soon be severely tested.
Forced to move from their crumbling apartment into temporary quarters owned by a theater friend, they are unaware that the former tenant worked as a prostitute and had a bevy of gentleman callers.
She carelessly left the unit, leaving behind all of her belongings for them to sift through. One night, while Rana is home alone, she inadvertently lets a mystery person in, leading to a terrible incident.
The film centers on determining what exactly happened between Rana and the intruder.
Is she hiding the truth? Can she and Emad overcome the consequences of what happened?
The audience is presented with a powerful, intriguing mystery to absorb and unravel.
Throughout most of the film, the audience is left with questions: Who was the intruder? Will Emad exact revenge? What happened?
The brilliance of The Salesman is that we, as the audience, never see the incident inside Emad and Rana’s apartment, so we are left baffled by what transpired. We merely witness the after-effects and the questions the characters (mainly Emad) have.
Is Rana being truthful? Did she know the man who entered the apartment? Was it even a man or perhaps the former female tenant? With Farhadi, anything is possible, but rest assured, a startling climax will ensue.
The genius lies in how the viewer’s loyalties will be divided by character and shift within a scene.
In one tense sequence, a heroic character becomes the villain and slowly returns to being the hero, creating a topsy-turvy experience!
The Salesman is smothered with a roller coaster of emotions and feelings.
The way more than one central character changes their motivations is essentially the film’s greatest success.
Rana, Emad, and “the Man” are flawed, complex characters, and it must have been a treat for these actors to sink their teeth into these roles.
A special mention goes to the other actors in the film. The Salesman is fraught with great performances, big and small.
Beyond the leads (Hosseini and Alidoosti), the supporting cast exudes immeasurable talent. Farid Sajadhosseini as “the Man” is astounding, and his family members, who appear mainly in the conclusion, deserve much praise.
These minor characters appear during the most pivotal part, giving it the acting chops to pull the result.
Asghar Farhadi hits another one out of the park with The Salesman (2016), and how deserving is the Oscar win for this man, a director whose films are always sure to be compelling, thought-provoking treats?
I cannot wait for his next film.
Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Foreign Language Film (won)