A Separation (2011)

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Starring: Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat

A married couple are faced with a difficult decision – to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Wow, this was intense on a dramatic level! The characters find themselves in a very complex situation. The film effectively illustrates how one small incident escalates to total mayhem, affecting the lives of so many.

From the fantastic performances to the captivating script, this was an incredible viewing experience. It is amazingly realistic. I only have praise for this film and therefore this will be a very short review. The shocking twist hits you where it hurts most – especially considering everything the characters went through in the process. The film almost had the same impact as the equally stunning Danish film ‘The Hunt’. Absolutely incredible.

‘A Separation’ received 138 award nominations, winning 89, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. There are simply too many awards to list here. The film is currently the 113th highest rated film. At the box office, the film earned nearly $23 million on a small $500,000 budget.

In Persian.

Would I watch it again? Yes.