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A Separation

Jodaeiye Nader az Simin

Iran

2011

123 Min

Color

1.85:1

Farsi

Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
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CAST Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, Merila Zarei

Berlinale (Competition): Golden Bear, Best Actor, Best Actress, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Transilvania (Supernova), Melbourne (International Panorama), Karlovy Vary (Horizons), San Sebastián (Zabaltegi-Pearls), Helsinki (Closing Night), Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), New York, Vancouver (Cinema of Our Time): Audience Award, Telluride, Athens (Closing Night), Abu Dhabi (Narrative Feature Competition): Special Jury Award, AFI FEST (World Cinema)

Synopsis

Simin wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Termeh. She has already made all the necessary arrangements. Nader, however, is having second thoughts. He is worried about leaving behind his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. For this reason he decides to call off the trip altogether.

As a result of Nader’s decision, Simin decides to sue for divorce at the family court. When her request is rejected, however, she refuses to live with Nader, moving instead into her parents’ home. Termeh decides to stay with her father, hoping that her mother will soon come back to live with them.

Nader finds it difficult to cope with the new situation – not least because it turns out to be so time-consuming. And so he hires a young woman named Razieh to look after his father. This young woman is pregnant and has accepted the job without her husband’s knowledge. One day, Nader arrives home to find that not only has his father been left alone, he has also been tied to a table! When Razieh returns, a blazing row ensues, the tragic consequences of which not only shatter Nader’s life, but also the image his daughter Termeh has of her father. —Berlinale

Director

Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972 in Isfahan, Iran. Whilst at school he became interested in writing, drama and the cinema, took courses at the Iranian Young Cinema Society and started his career as a filmmaker by making super 8mm and 16mm films.

He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Film Direction from Tehran University in 1998. During his studies, he wrote and directed several student plays, wrote for the national radio and directed a number of TV series, including episodes of Tale of a City.

In 2001, Farhadi wrote the screenplay for Ebrahim Hatamikia’s box-office and critical success Low Heights.

His directorial debut was in 2003 with Dancing in the Dust. After Beautiful City, in 2004, and Fireworks Wednesday in 2006, Farhadi directed About Elly, winning the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival and Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

A Separation… read more

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Enquan Gu

28Apr13

Movie is a matter of story, not meretricious furnishings.

nikki

21Apr13

I really enjoy stories where no one is in the wrong.

mauries and Moshi like this

deni.a

11Apr13

genius Farhadi really genius. I'm lost my word

Aguaespejo

20Feb13

Felt like a made for TV melodrama (in how screenplay driven it is; also some of the reaction shots for instance) but with characters a lot more complex and less commercialized than you'd find on TV...The tension never lets down and you're left with a sort of queasiness; I was moved by the class tensions which I could relate to from my childhood in India ...

João Pedro Tomás

22Feb13

Television isn't this raw (and complex). Iranian television, at least. lol
Aguaespejo

22Feb13

For sure for sure!

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Fans

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.

Daily Briefing. Asghar Farhadi in France, Payman Maadi in LA

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"The Artist" Wins Big at the Oscars

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The full list of nominees and winners of this year’s Academy Awards.

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Also: Adam Curtis on Dead of Night, life, the universe and everything. And more.

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Daily Briefing. Iranian Hardliners Vs the Oscar

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Also: Abel Ferrara intends to direct Gérard Depardieu as Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Isabelle Adjani as Anne Sinclair.

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Asian Film Awards Nominations 2012

By David Hudson on January 17, 2012

Tsui Hark’s Flying Swords of Dragon Gate leads with seven, followed by Flowers of War and Seediq Bale, with six each.

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Daily Briefing. Film Comment, Jan/Feb 2012

By David Hudson on January 10, 2012

Also: The latest indefinite word on whether or not David Fincher will make The Girl Who Played with Fire.

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Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation"

By David Hudson on January 2, 2012

One of the best films of 2011 begins its tour of the US.

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Daily Briefing. Cinema Scope 49

By David Hudson on December 23, 2011

Featuring an interview with Ai Weiwei and more. Also: The Gold Rush and Last Year at Marienbad in New York.

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Village Voice Poll 2011: Yep, it's "The Tree of Life," but…!

By David Hudson on December 21, 2011

According to the Passiondex™, the real winner this year was made 20 years ago.

read article

Daily Briefing. 2011 Lists from Slant, Frieze, Ebert, MSN and More

By David Hudson on December 16, 2011

Also: A fresh round of essays at one of my own favorite sites of the year, The Chiseler.

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Awards 2011. Los Angeles Film Critics Association Goes for "The Descendants"

By David Hudson on December 12, 2011

Runner-Up: The Tree of Life, for which Terrence Malick wins Best Director.

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"The Artist" Strikes Again. New York Film Critics Online Awards 2011

By David Hudson on December 11, 2011

Best Film, Director and Use of Music. The Tree of Life scores Cinematography and, at least in part, Breakthrough Performer.

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Sight & Sound Poll 2011: Top Ten

By David Hudson on December 1, 2011

“Our film of 2011 is The Tree of Life (by a country mile).”

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NYFF 2011. Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation"

By David Hudson on October 2, 2011

Far more than “a screenwriter’s film,” A Separation is also “a fine account of Iran’s predicament.”

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Movie Poster of the Week: The Posters of the 49th New York Film Festival

By Adrian Curry on September 30, 2011

A look at the posters for the films in the main slate of this year’s New York Film Festival.

read article

Berlinale 2011. Farhadi's "Nader and Simin" + Marston's "Forgiveness of Blood"

By David Hudson on February 23, 2011

Honor is everything in the Iran of Asghar Farhadi's Nader and Simon, a Separation and the Albania of Joshua Marston's The Forgiveness of

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Berlinale 2011. Golden Bear for "Nader and Simin, a Separation"

By David Hudson on February 19, 2011

What a night for Asghar Farhadi's Nader and Simin, a Separation. Not only has the International Jury of this year's Berlinale, presided over

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A SEPARATION review

By Twitchfilm.com on December 18, 2011

Iranian cinema, probably one of the most artistically rich of today, has gone, in the last few years, hand in hand with the country’s social and political situation. Often distinguished in European and

→ read on Twitchfilm.com

Lists

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Reviews

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Far from far-fetched

By Heywood Seth on October 23, 2012

Some people dislike films which are too serious. Of course, seriousness is everyday reality and this picture is a masterclass demonstration of true life tribulation which made me think & place… read review

[Last Film I Saw] A Separation

By lasttimeisaw on September 7, 2012

English Title: A Separation
Original Title: Jodaeiye Nader az Simin
Year: 2011
Country: Iran
Language: Persian
Genre: Drama
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Writer: Asghar Farhadi… read review

Film review: A Separation

By Miasma on March 14, 2012

I hesitated in posting this review onto Mubi because I hold the unpopular opinion of it. Forgive me.

This… read review

We All Have Our Reasons

By Seen Said on February 24, 2012

A Separation is one of the more expertly written, convincingly acted, and emotionally observant films in recent years. It is simultaneously both a taut high-wire act of suspenseful divergence… read review

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A Separation

Jodaeiye Nader az Simin

Iran

2011

DIR Asghar Farhadi

PROD Asghar Farhadi

SCR Asghar Farhadi

DP Mahmoud Kalari

CAST Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, Merila Zarei

ED Hayedeh Safiyari

PROD DES Keyvan Moghaddam

SOUND Mahmood Sammakbashi

Synopsis

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