A Separation Review

SPOILER ALERT

Number 60 on the top 1000 films of all time is this 2011 Iranian family-drama: A Separation.

Set in Iran, A Separation focuses on a family living in Tehran.  The mother Simin wants to move abroad to provide better opportunities for her daughter Termeh.  When her husband Nadeh refuses to, she files for divorce.  When the court rejects her application for divorce, Simin leaves Nadeh and returns to live with her parents.  This leaves Nadeh at a loss over who will take care of his father suffering from Alzheimer's disease, when he is working at the bank.  He hires the lower-class Razieh to fill this role.  Complications raise when he accuses her of stealing from him and she accuses him of causing her miscarriage.

The thing I've enjoyed most about this challenge is that I have gotten to watch the best films that other countries have had to offer.  From India to Brazil to Iran, I have watched some great films.  A Separation is very much a character-driven drama about the personal destruction of a family.  It is a sensitive exploration of the stresses that taking care of a relative with Alzheimer's can bring.  This is explored best through the character of Termeh, who is perhaps the only likeable character.  At twelve years old, she is already at a confusing time in life, which is only worsened by her parents' arguments.  She is obviously an intelligent young woman and she is completely aware of the situation around her.  She knows why her parents are arguing and she knows of her grandfather's condition.  This is what makes watching her journey so painful and powerful.  Caught in between her parents' arguments, she is very much the victim of the film.

The film's most powerful scene comes at its conclusion. When Nadeh and Simin return to court to once again file for divorce, Termeh is asked to pick which parent she wants to live with.  Instead of giving an answer, she quietly breaks down.  The film ends on Nadeh and Simin waiting outside separated by a glass partition.  It is here where the film's title takes on a metaphorical, as well as a physical meaning.

Being set in Iran, A Separation is set against an Islamic backdrop.  As a Western viewer, it was interesting to not only watcha  family crumble, but a family so obviously influenced by Islamic values.  Razieh's traditionalist husband Hodjat is prepared to fight to the death to protect his wife's honour, whilst Nadeh has to keep reprimanding him for being insulting.  Razieh does not tell Hodjat at first that she is working for a single man, as she knows that he wouldn't approves.  When it becomes obvious that Nadeh's father is incontinent, Razieh phones up a religious hot-line to check whether it would be acceptable for her to change him.  These cultural differences add a different dimension to the film and made it new and refreshing to watch.

This notwithstanding, the film is not perfect.  The constant location changes from the courtroom to the hospital to Nadeh's house lead to the film being less grounded and difficult to follow at times.  Also the characters, with the exception of Termeh, are all fundamentally unlikeable, due to how dishonest they are.,  The missing money which kickstarts the film's central conflict was actually taken by Simin to pay moving men.  Does she say anything about this? No.  Nadeh initially denies knowing anything about Razieh's pregnancy, which is a lie.  Razieh accuses Nadeh of throwing her down a flight of stairs, thus causing her miscarriage.

 I had a hard time believing this lie.  What I think happened was that Nadeh got a little carried away when he was telling Razieh to leave his home.  Upon forcing her leave, he got a little rough and unintentionally pushed her, not threw her, out of his house, thus causing her fall.  Razieh later admits that her miscarriage could have been more likely caused when she had been by a car earlier.  Even Termeh, the one morally good character, is forced to lie to protect her father.  If these characters had just been honest about their actions, they would have saved themselves a lot of trouble and would have been much more likeable in the process.

Ultimately though this is a powerful and understated film about the crippling effects of Alzheimer's Disease.  Told from an Islamic viewpoint, it is subtle, but poignant.  If you have never watched an Iranian film before, like me prior to watching this, I would definitely recommend watching A Separation.