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| Leila Hatami and Peyman Moadi in this powerful drama. |
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Produced by Asghar Farhadi
Written by Asghar Farhadi
Starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Saren Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, and Merila Zarei
****
In Asghar Farhadi's Oscar-winning drama, two families collide when a murder charge is brought against Nader (Moadi), the father of one of them. Razieh (Bayat), who cared for Nader's senile father (Shahbazi) for a few days, had a miscarriage right after she was fired. The question is: Did she lose the child when Nader argued with her for tying his father up and abandoning him? Or, did she lose the baby some other way? Razieh and her husband Hojjat (S. Hosseini) claim that Nader pushed her, causing her to fall, and has committed murder. Nader, meanwhile, brings charges against Razieh for the abuse of his father. In the midst of this legal battle, Nader is living with his daughter Termeh (Farhadi) and ill father, while his wife Simin (Hatami) is seeking a divorce and wants to take their daughter away. So, who is telling the truth, if anybody, about the argument and the miscarriage? Facts are twisted and covered up, as the families try to reconcile their desperate situations.
As the material would suggest, this film is brimming with emotions and features sublime performances from the ensemble cast. Farhadi relies on the actors and his unyielding script to achieve the desired dramatic intensity. There are no tricks, no gimmicks, as he has no need to show off. The soundtrack is very quiet, and the handheld camerawork is unobtrusive, putting the burden on the performers to convey the director's vision. All of the actors truly live on screen in these roles, which is the highest praise I can give. With the great number of emotional scenes in the film, they are so natural, so unperturbed by the requirements of this intense story. Instead of jumping off the screen and declaring "I'm acting here! I'm acting here!" (I'm looking at you, Daniel Day-Lewis), each performer lends a wonderful authenticity to his or her character, playing these moments as genuine crises rather than cheap imitations thereof. This remarkable film is packed with great drama and top-notch performances, and it proves to be one of last year's best films.
As the material would suggest, this film is brimming with emotions and features sublime performances from the ensemble cast. Farhadi relies on the actors and his unyielding script to achieve the desired dramatic intensity. There are no tricks, no gimmicks, as he has no need to show off. The soundtrack is very quiet, and the handheld camerawork is unobtrusive, putting the burden on the performers to convey the director's vision. All of the actors truly live on screen in these roles, which is the highest praise I can give. With the great number of emotional scenes in the film, they are so natural, so unperturbed by the requirements of this intense story. Instead of jumping off the screen and declaring "I'm acting here! I'm acting here!" (I'm looking at you, Daniel Day-Lewis), each performer lends a wonderful authenticity to his or her character, playing these moments as genuine crises rather than cheap imitations thereof. This remarkable film is packed with great drama and top-notch performances, and it proves to be one of last year's best films.
Oscar Tally: Nomination for Best Original Screenplay; Win for Best Foreign Language Film
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