Asghar Farhadi's 'A Separation'
REVIEW: Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation” (Iran)
When the great Akira Kurosawa created “Rashomon”, he challenged the nature of reality by having his characters recount their own versions of a single event. By doing so, Kurosawa managed to reveal not the truth but the underlying nature and motive of each character. Decades after this, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi creates “A Separation” – a film that echoes Kurosawa’s fascination for the truth while blinding the eyes of the characters with the intricate hands of the law. By doing so, Farhadi suspends the truth and directs his narrative towards what is deemed right in the eyes of the viewer.
Religion plays a key factor in Farhadi’s fable: different characters are trying to do right while …show more content…
We follow the story of Nader and Simin (Peyman Moadi and Leila Hatami), a couple that is battling back and forth over a divorce procedure as Simin has plans to move to another country while Nader wants to stay with his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Because of this, Simin decides to move to her mother’s house while Nader stays with their daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and his sick father. He hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a female caregiver to care for his dad. Razieh, however, is a very religious woman. In fact, she is so religious that she has to consult her priest if it is okay for her to change a man’s undergarments, even though he is old, sick, and …show more content…
Razieh has a perfect reason for her supposed negligence, but no one knows this – including us. Nader defends his case and we sympathize with him. A witness provides a sincere recounting, though not completely reliable. The judge takes all the pieces of evidence and despite having a personal take on the issue, he draws the line in the middle and maintains the notion that all findings must abide by religious law. It might sound unsympathetic but we understand that this might be the best course of
When the great Akira Kurosawa created “Rashomon”, he challenged the nature of reality by having his characters recount their own versions of a single event. By doing so, Kurosawa managed to reveal not the truth but the underlying nature and motive of each character. Decades after this, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi creates “A Separation” – a film that echoes Kurosawa’s fascination for the truth while blinding the eyes of the characters with the intricate hands of the law. By doing so, Farhadi suspends the truth and directs his narrative towards what is deemed right in the eyes of the viewer.
Religion plays a key factor in Farhadi’s fable: different characters are trying to do right while …show more content…
We follow the story of Nader and Simin (Peyman Moadi and Leila Hatami), a couple that is battling back and forth over a divorce procedure as Simin has plans to move to another country while Nader wants to stay with his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Because of this, Simin decides to move to her mother’s house while Nader stays with their daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and his sick father. He hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a female caregiver to care for his dad. Razieh, however, is a very religious woman. In fact, she is so religious that she has to consult her priest if it is okay for her to change a man’s undergarments, even though he is old, sick, and …show more content…
Razieh has a perfect reason for her supposed negligence, but no one knows this – including us. Nader defends his case and we sympathize with him. A witness provides a sincere recounting, though not completely reliable. The judge takes all the pieces of evidence and despite having a personal take on the issue, he draws the line in the middle and maintains the notion that all findings must abide by religious law. It might sound unsympathetic but we understand that this might be the best course of