Monday, December 19, 2011

A Separation

2011, Asghar Farhadi, Persian, 117m 

A taut drama portraying current (pre-cellphone) Iranian society. A couple is on the verge of separation because the wife wants to immigrate but the husband wants to stay on to look after his Alzheimer afflicted father. It's a plot driven film with no musical score (except for the end credits) and expertly put together like a jig saw with no redundant edges. It depicts a modernizing society overcast with Islamic ethos and illuminates our picture of Iran with a profusion of detail. I do not think it is of the rank of Kiarostami in terms of delicacy and humanistic insight. On one level it is a courtroom drama and we observe the legal system, which seems simpler and quicker, lacking the strictness of procedural detail we find in India or US, but perhaps stern and rigid in terms of punishment. Certainly an engrossing movie which had me hooked from early on to the end.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is one of my favorite films of the year. I have been thinking about revisting this excellent film for months, but I have not done that yet. I am determined to watch around this weekend.

S M Rana said...

Second viewings are a luxury I can rarely afford! In the pefection with which different segments are welded, it reminded me of Fargo.

Bunty Gandhi said...

fantastic film..film of 2011

Bunty Gandhi said...

what a real approach to cinema !!