A Separation

Genius
The Iranian film "A Separation" will most likely win this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and has already won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film as well as best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. "A Separation" is writer and director Asghar Farhadi's fifth film, and it's the one that will establish him as one of the world's most brilliant storytellers.

The title ostensibly refers to an urban middle class couple who have separated from each other; English teacher Simin has gotten a visa to emigrate to the West, but her husband Nader, who works in a bank, refuses to leave his father who has Alzheimer's. They have an 11-year-old daughter Termeh (played by the director's daughter) who doesn't want her parents to leave each other, and so chooses to stay with her father, knowing that Simin won't leave Iran without her.

But the title also refers to the rural-urban, traditional-modern, moral-utilitarian divides that coalesce to form the main conflict...

The only film where people watch the end credits with bated breath!
This film is a masterpiece.

Many reviews have already given away the plot, but in essence this film is about the difficulties of life in Iran told through the misfortune of a split family who get into a bad situation that enables the director to tell the story of lower middle class Iranian life.

The wife wants to move abroad, the husband wants to stay because of his demented father. The daughter is caught in the middle. The family struggle with home help.

There is a twist in the story, which I shall not reveal, but when I saw this film, it was the only film I have ever seen where the entire audience waited through the WHOLE end credit sequence to witness the twist.

Brilliant, educated cinematography.

Why can't Hollywood Get it Right and Follow the Example of "A Separation"?!!
This is a masterful, unblinking, documentary-like description of the incredibly delicate relationships that exist between the members of any family. It should appeal to any adult who has ever a) been married; b) been a parent; c) cared for an elderly person; d) had a serious difference of opinion with a mate; e) tried to be a good person and do the right thing but was thwarted by circumstances and dilemmas; and f) tried to keep the peace at home by telling a white lie that eventually had unintended consequences.

In other words, the very mature subject matter and plot should be of interest to just about any adult anywhere in the world.

I wonder why Hollywood is incapable of making similar films. The cost is minimal, but Hollywood would have to imagine a good story, write a realistic and intelligent screenplay and refrain from explosions.

["The Kids Are All Right" did an excellent job addressing the drama of family dynamics, but it seemed unable to move...

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