The beauty of A Separation is how the elegantly the film is able to throw the audience into the world and culture of the characters on screen. Everything is fleshed out and detailed. I never once found myself lost or confused, despite a rather complex plot. Despite never visiting Iran or being apart of the culture, I felt like I understood everything. The story is so universal yet so personal to these people.
The plot is simple on the surface but becomes complex as the film plays out. A man and a woman who live in Iran are filing for a divorce. Neither partner wants the divorce but the wife, Simin(Leila Hatami), cannot bare to raise her daughter in the current conditions of Iran and wants to move. The husband, Nadar(Peyman Moaadi), does not want to move because he must remain in Iran to take care of his father who has Alzheimer's. Simin moves out until the divorce can be finalized and the daughter remains in the care of Nadar. Since Nadar works a majority of the day, he hires a caretaker to watch his father while he is gone. That is all I will say of the films plot as I said the film becomes rather complex. To be fair, the divorce is only a small piece to the film's puzzle.
Despite the films complexity I always knew what was going on. The film is so beautifully acted and directed that the film could have gone on for hours and I never would have complained once. Despite being in a foreign language I was easily able to follow the rapid fire dialogue, which never seemed to slow down. People say that the French language is one of the most elegant languages to speak, but I would have to say that the way these characters spoke Persian truly was hypnotizing.
It's interesting to note that this film was made for a measly 800,000 US dollars. It's amazing what can be done when time is taken to truly develop story and characters. If only Hollywood would take more time to develop these things instead of worrying about 3D or cheap special effects.
Despite being less then two hours in length, A Separation covers many different topics ranging from religion to sexual dominance in society. I haven't seen any of the other films that were nominated for Best Foreign Film for last years Oscars, but to be honest I do not think I need to. This deserved the honor and was easily one of the best films of 2011 period.
4/4 Muffins
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