An incredible achievement in film making, both in form and content. The director continues his deep analysis into the concept of lying (which he started in About Elly) with hypnotic performances and breath-taking dialogue, and amazingly avoids the cliches that can hurtle such movies into an idiotic lesson in morality. The secret, is that the film portrays everyday common people, with very believable motivations and desires. Don't be surprised if you find yourself among the characters.
PS: This film, also known as Nader and Simin, A Separation, is to be distributed in the US on December 30th. Don't miss it.
Mo says:
Mo Magic!
Thanks for the great recommendation. With this and About Elli Farhadi has proven himself as a great storyteller, the likes of which I have rarely, if ever, seen in Iranian cinema. The engaging plot, and the fact that none of the characters were absolutely innocent or absolutely guilty, made me feel that here was an intelligent filmmaker treating his audience as intelligent viewers. It was sad to see how the children in the story lost their innocence as they were exposed to the dirt of adult conflicts.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at how the screenplay was structured, almost like an algorithm, where every step of the way a lie/truth was revealed, and suddenly the entire story and the characterizations deviated to a different path given that lie/truth. It's a very good allegory for how lying shakes up everyday life to its core, and no one can neither be trusted nor distrusted. It just leaves us as the audience in a confused state. And unfortunately, it's the reality of life in this society.
ReplyDeleteNot even one dialogue was extra. Every line, every move, every gesture was succinct and to the point, and kept you guessing to the end, making predictions for the next point in the story impossible. And every performance was not only believable but also seamless, all the way down to the judge presiding over the case in that small room. I have a hard time remembering an Iranian movie that has moved me in such way.
An old cinephile(my uncle!) told me if i didn't like the movie enough it means i know nothing about cinema!:(
ReplyDeleteHere the movie were acclaimed a lot by people and in VIFF(Vancouver international festival)last month got people's choice awards.let's see what happen in Academic nomination.May it be possible?
Especially with all the negative political climate going on right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood decides to make use of the hype to its own benefit, and at least give the movie an Oscar nomination.
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