Caught "A Separation" in Amsterdam last night, fully unprepared for its greatness. I hadn't been swept off my feet for a while, but this Iranian Hitchcockian drama sucked us in for 123 minutes and left us very, very impressed.
I purposely went into this movie knowing only the highest award that it got (Academy Award for best foreign film of 2011). I decided just to see what would happen, and boy am I happy that I did.
It's not just about the seperation of Nader and Simin. It shows us the seperation of people from their society, children from their families.
Have you ever been watching a movie where you could not take your eyes of the screen, not even for one second to take a zip of your wine? This movie is for me a thriller, even though labeled a drama.
Best description of tehran life nowadays. Shahb Hoseini is the best actor of Iran all time.
There is only one thing that is extraordinary in this film: the ubiquitous prevalence of the colour grey, or of subdued colours like brown or green. The faces are greyish, the houses are grey inside and outside, the cars are grey, the hospital's waiting room is grey, the dresses and chadors are grey or at least black (!
A separation ... of an old man from his grasp on reality ...
The gap between people, the confrontation between classes, the dilemma between faith and reality. There is no right or wrong, only the difference in position and helplessness of the status quo.
Beneath the opening credits, a photocopier copies IDs, one after another.We open to a courtroom.
