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A Separation

PG-13 Released Dec 30, 2011 2h 3m Drama List
99% Tomatometer 179 Reviews 92% Audience Score 10,000+ Ratings
When Nader (Payman Maadi), a bank employee, refuses to leave Tehran, his wife, Simin (Leila Hatami) sues for divorce in the hope that she can make a better life for their young daughter abroad. Needing someone to care for his senile father while he's at work, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a married woman whose chador hides her pregnancy. One day, after becoming angry with Razieh, Nader shoves her, and she has a miscarriage, leading Razieh's husband to take Nader to court. Read More Read Less
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A Separation

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Critics Consensus

Morally complex, suspenseful, and consistently involving, A Separation captures the messiness of a dissolving relationship with keen insight and searing intensity.

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Critics Reviews

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David Thomson The New Republic You cannot watch the film without feeling kinship with the characters and admitting their decency as well as their mistakes. Jun 19, 2013 Full Review Jon Frosch The Atlantic Dynamically shot and paced like a thriller, the film has the density and moral prickliness of a good novel. Mar 7, 2012 Full Review Stephanie Zacharek Movieline Nothing earth-shattering happens in A Separation, but the straightforwardness of this view of a disintegrating marriage, set in the context of complicated cultural and religious mors, is dramatic by itself. Rated: 8.5/10 Mar 6, 2012 Full Review Angelos Koutsourakis PopMatters Equally important is that the film avoids oversimplistic condemnations of the Iranian regime, showing that oppression can be propagated unconsciously, even by those who are at the bottom of society. Rated: 7/10 Feb 23, 2024 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies It touches on a reality of life that transcends any political or cultural barrier while also offering some thought-provoking insight into the religious laws and social structure of that part of the world. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 19, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review A Separation stimulates discussion about how the characters behave and how we feel about their choices. Rated: 4/4 Feb 21, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gary K A snooze fest. Didn’t care about any of the characters. Too long by far. One has to be seriously in love with anything Iranian or be able to speak Farsi in order to enjoy this one. How this is getting such good reviews is a mystery to me. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/30/24 Full Review Dani G Intense family drama examining an unusual couples situation for a country like Iran. Screenplay, direction, acting, storytelling: all first level. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/29/24 Full Review Yash B "A Separation" reminded me about how gripping, thought-provoking, and chilling quiet dramatic films can be. This movie features story elements that are genuinely hard to watch, but the story is compelling and fascinating. Characters all make mistakes and feel human, and somehow everyone feels right and wrong in their own way at some point. It is a movie that throws the viewer into a sad situation and then shows the devastating aftermath of it. Overall, this is a tough movie to get through as it is often emotionally draining and features a lot of unfortunate moments, but it is riveting and compelling and genuinely kept me completely engaged while watching it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/07/24 Full Review Martin F An unforgettable drama that perfectly captures how messy life can turn even when you do your best to get it right. If the ongoing separation between the couple is the first source of issues for our characters, it develops into something more sad and complicated as each little choice on how to take care of the divorce has strong consequence. It's a hard-hitting movie as their problems are sad but also relatable. Between family, mental illness, money or trust, it's hard to not feel each character's (especially the father's) desperation and to not be able to make a clear decision on who is right and who is wrong. As an Iranian movie, it also gives you an overview on the Iranian culture through their justice system, the implication of the religion or the clothes which give a fresh point of view when we are used to Western movies. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Lars N This film does a lot of work unfolding a seemingly small case to devastating proportions. The relentlessness is thrilling and the complexity is beautifully structured. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/29/23 Full Review Luis M. D Excellent Iranian movie—sober, realistic and very effective. How can a film about a couple getting divorced turn out to be so interesting? Just watch this movie and see! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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A Separation

Shahab Hosseini as Hodjat in "A Separation." Shahab Hosseini (center) as Hodjat in "A Separation." (L-R) Ali-Asghar Shahbazi and Peyman Moadi as Nader in "A Separation." Leila Hatami as Simin in "A Separation." Kimia Hosseini as Somayeh in "A Separation." Peyman Moadi as Nader and Sarina Farhadi as Termeh in "A Separation." (L-R) Kimia Hosseini as Somayeh and Sareh Bayat as Razieh in "A Separation." Leila Hatami as Simin and Peyman Moadi as Nader in "A Separation." Leila Hatami as Simin in "A Separation." Leila Hatami as Simin and Payman Maadi as Nader in "A Separation." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When Nader (Payman Maadi), a bank employee, refuses to leave Tehran, his wife, Simin (Leila Hatami) sues for divorce in the hope that she can make a better life for their young daughter abroad. Needing someone to care for his senile father while he's at work, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a married woman whose chador hides her pregnancy. One day, after becoming angry with Razieh, Nader shoves her, and she has a miscarriage, leading Razieh's husband to take Nader to court.
Director
Asghar Farhadi
Producer
Negar Eskandarfar, Asghar Farhadi
Screenwriter
Asghar Farhadi
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Asghar Farhadi
Rating
PG-13 (Mature Thematic Material)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 30, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$331.7K
Runtime
2h 3m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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