A Separation
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For those of you suffering from blockbuster overload, a slice of Iranian cinema might be just the ticket to help you get over Tintin, Sherlock Holmes or Mission: Impossible. So while you won’t get any CGI in A Separation, you will be introduced to a tale about the dissolution of a marriage. Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi). But Simin sues for divorce when Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer-suffering father (and that’s the only link you’ll surely find to The Iron Lady). With her request denied (“Your problem is a small problem,” is the judge’s summing up), Simin goes back to her parents’ place, but Termeh decides to stay with Nader.
You’d imagine that writer-director Asghar Farhadi couldn’t be happier with the thoughts of the critics, who aren’t separated in their outpouring of love for A Separation. “A total triumph,” concludes Time Out New York, “A remarkably poised marital thriller from Iran, full of surprise developments and suppressed volatility,” writes the Observer, while the Village Voice believes that “what’s fascinating is how the various issues – religious or practical – are played out in these two quite different families, yet always come down to irreconcilable differences between rebellious women and their stiff-necked, controlling men.” Perhaps Margaret Thatcher would be able to relate to A Separation after all.
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NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: You can see The Iron Lady for Meryl Streep’s performance or A Separation for its entire cast. If you can handle the subtitles, the latter might be the more rewarding experience.