{"id":8171,"date":"2018-03-21T10:44:04","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T14:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=8171"},"modified":"2026-08-26T15:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:07:13","slug":"a-separation-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=8171","title":{"rendered":"A Separation-2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Separation-2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Asghar Farhadi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #734<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reviewed March 21, 2018<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Separation is a 2011 Iranian film that won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award statuette, the first Iranian film to receive the honor.<\/p>\n

The film is a wonderfully complex family drama that weaves typical family issues (divorce and school issues) with more complicated cultural leanings, and keeps going with story nuances.<\/p>\n

A Separation is directed by the acclaimed Asghar Farhadi, who is also responsible for the brilliant screenplay- this is a top-notch film.<\/p>\n

Presumably set in Tehran, or a more progressive (by Iranian standards) city in Iran, husband and wife Nader and Simin reside with their teenage daughter, Termeh, and Nader’s elderly father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.<\/p>\n

Frustrated by her husband’s refusal to leave the country for a better life, Simin files for divorce, but male judges reject her wish.<\/p>\n

When she leaves her family anyway, Nader is forced to hire a pregnant caregiver, Razieh, to tend to his ailing father.<\/p>\n

After a controversial tragedy ensues, causing Razieh to suffer a miscarriage, the film shifts directions and adds an entirely new layer to the already fascinating story.<\/p>\n

Farhadi is keen to tell a good story. He traditionally mixes themes of culture and social class interestingly, as his future 2017 work, The Salesman, would also do.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Farhadi’s innovative storytelling, more attention is paid to Iran and Iranian culture, humanizing its citizens through the craft of film.<\/p>\n

We see Iranian people just like ourselves and not the radical or dangerous individuals we are programmed to see.<\/p>\n

In A Separation, there are no clear-cut protagonists or antagonists, and the viewer’s allegiances may shift throughout the film.<\/p>\n

Do we champion Simin for desiring a better life for herself and Termeh or scold her for refusing to live with her family? A progressive woman for sure, she is a layered character in her ambitions and her autonomy.<\/p>\n

Nader is also a complex character- heroic for desiring the best care for his father, but he is also fraught with danger and a bad temperament, which is the main reason for the second half of the film and leads to Razieh’s predicament.<\/p>\n

Viewers will not be sure whether Nader is a good man, a villain, or a hybrid of the two. This becomes the heart of the story and makes for an enthralling character-development experience.<\/p>\n

As if the brilliant screenplay was not enough to demand a good watch, the acting across the board is wonderful.<\/p>\n

A cast including seasoned Iranian actors Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi as Simin and Nader; these are my favorites and are quite adept at carrying along with the nail-biting tension in masterful form.<\/p>\n

Shades of Alfred Hitchcock are evident throughout the film as the tension unfolds to a crescendo and the action builds and builds and builds in layers upon layers of good stuff.<\/p>\n

The quick editing and unique camera angles mirror some classic works of the famous director.<\/p>\n

A Separation succeeds because of its fast-paced, tightly edited construction; in a way that, at over two hours long, it moves quickly and leaves viewers pondering, wondering, thinking, and questioning.<\/p>\n

Asghar Farhadi has quickly become a prominent director, faced obstacles in his native country, and yet surpassed them to create a great film.<\/p>\n

I look forward to many more of his works.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-<\/strong>Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:<\/strong> 1 win<\/strong>-Best International Film (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Separation-2011 Director Asghar Farhadi Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi Scott’s Review #734 Reviewed March 21, 2018 Grade: A A Separation is a 2011 Iranian film that won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award statuette, the first Iranian film to receive the honor. The film is a wonderfully complex family drama that weaves typical … Continue reading A Separation-2011<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,350,192,35,213,2651],"tags":[3295,3296,3297,12524,12525,5941],"class_list":["post-8171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2011-films","category-best-foreign-language-picture-winners","category-dramas","category-foreignfilms","category-foreign-dramas","category-persian","tag-asghar-farhadi","tag-leila-hatami","tag-peyman-moaadi","tag-sareh-bayat","tag-sarina-farhadi","tag-shahab-hosseini"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8171"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24219,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8171\/revisions\/24219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}