From Iran: A Separation

You don't have to be familiar with A Separation—the 2011 drama from Iran that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film—to appreciate this documentary that looks at the impact that the movie had on middle-class urban Iranians. The international success of A Separation felt like a personal victory to those Iranians who felt invisible in the shadow of their country's perpetual conflicts with the rest of the world. A Separation, about the breakup of a marriage when a husband refuses to leave his ailing father behind after his wife asks him to leave the country with her, was well-regarded by critics everywhere. From Iran captures the passion of Iranians who waited days in line to see the film and then debated and praised it endlessly, defining themselves as a class of people—like the film's characters—who only want peace and prosperity, despite the larger global power aspirations of the nation's rulers. The writer-director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi, appears frequently here, often looking surprised over the outsized response his movie received back home, especially following his triumphant return from the Oscar ceremony. The local excitement, tears of joy, and sheer fandom on display for the movie are quite touching, but perhaps the most important aspect of this documentary lies in being afforded a real look at people who are too easily demonized in our current political climate. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)