A Separation (2011)

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.

Director:

Asghar Farhadi

Writer:

Asghar Farhadi

Stars:

Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat

Top Rated Movies #114 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 88 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Payman Maadi	...	Nader (as Peyman Moadi)
Leila Hatami	...	Simin
Sareh Bayat	...	Razieh
Shahab Hosseini	...	Hojjat
Sarina Farhadi	...	Termeh
Merila Zare'i	...	Miss Ghahraii
Ali-Asghar Shahbazi	...	Nader's Father
Babak Karimi	...	Interrogator
Kimia Hosseini	...	Somayeh
Shirin Yazdanbakhsh	...	Simin's Mother
Sohibanoo Zolqadr	...	Azam (as Sahabanu Zolghadr)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mohammadhasan Asghari	...	Creditor
Shirin Azimiyannezhad	...	Woman in the Bus
Hamid Dadju	...	Creditor
Mohammad Ebrahimian	...	Judge

Storyline

Nader (Payman Maadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) argue about living abroad. Simin prefers to live abroad to provide better opportunities for their only daughter, Termeh. However, Nader refuses to go because he thinks he must stay in Iran and take care of his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi), who suffers from Alzheimers. However, Simin is determined to get a divorce and leave the country with her daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | alzheimer's disease | marital problem | court | stairway | 

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Taglines:

Ugly truth, sweet lies

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material

Did You Know?

Trivia

Considered by Sight & Sound magazine as the second best movie of 2011.

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Goofs

When Simin and Hojjat's sister are talking to Hojjat, the fan behind Hojjat is on at first, but off and facing a different angle in subsequent scenes.

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Quotes

Termeh: If you knew she was pregnant, why did you hit her?
Nader: Look, I did know she was pregnant, but in that moment I didn't, I had forgotten, This matter was not on my mind at all
Termeh: Well... well go tell these exact things to them
[to the Interrogator]
Nader: My dear, the Law doesn't understand such things, It says either you knew or you didn't... Look at me! if you want me to go and tell them I will do this right off
Termeh: ...

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Connections

Featured in The 84th Annual Academy Awards (2012)

User Reviews

you will be "awed" in amazement THROUGHOUT!

I'll just get to the point,

if you are previewing for something to watch, there is no way you can play the 1st 3 minutes of this film and stop. It hooks you straight in, and for me, I LOVE that in films.

the story is just AMAZING, and the way it's portrayed, the director makes sure you are following behind with EVERY MINUTE OF THE FILM, as it unwinds. the casting is just brilliant, as if they were just born to play this film and then die. they achieve in captivating the emotion of the story VERY well. EVERY SINGLE ACTOR int this film did a great job.

what's even more amazing, it's how low budget this film is (300K us$).

as a conclusion; 3 good things about this film; (1) the story-line, well written and well scripted (2) the cast, well selected, and amazing acting (3) the setting, and the lack of a score! (yes, & it was a great idea!)

Details

Official Sites:

Golem Distribución [Spain] Memento Films [France]

Country:

Iran France Australia

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

16 March 2011 (Iran)

Also Known As:

A Separation

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$59,481, 1 January 2012

Gross USA:

$7,099,055

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,926,076

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asghar Farhadi Productions, Dreamlab Films, MPA APSA Academy Film Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1