Director’s A. Farhadi’s film ”A Separation” is morally challenging and powerful drama about modern Iran society, although the themes that are being analyzed in this film are universal and understandable to everyone.

An unhappily married couple want to split up. Simin wants to leave Iran for her daughter’s future but Nader refuses to emigrate because of his old father who has Alzheimer’s. The film starts in court where both of them try to explain situation from their own perspectives. As man and woman sit apart, avoiding looking to each other, we have a feeling that they have already separated. We can’t see the exact figure of a judge, characters talk directly to the camera. Audience becomes a judge and this happens to be the key to the whole film.

One mistake leads to another and terrible mess starts. As in his previous film „About Elly“ Farhadi is interested not in action itself but in consequences it may cause and, most importantly, in reactions and moral dilemmas of people. Characters in the film are separated from each other by sex, age, social class or religious beliefs, yet they all make the same mistake when they try to convince themselves that a small lie is not really a lie. There is no other word to describe acting besides brilliant. Every similarity as well as every single difference is shown as clear as possible, avoiding exaggeration or overacting. Clear structure of the narrative and powerful dialogues create an atmosphere of being right in the middle of what’s going around, feeling the same anxiety and suspense as the characters feel.

Farhadi doesn’t take sides. In this dramatic and psychologically complex film he uses clear and sensitive voice to prove that usually we can’t blame just one or another – everyone might be right, everyone might be wrong.

Monika Gimbutaitė