MYST #5: A Separation

Recently, I've been really into foreign films. I started this semester off with a bang with Amelie and from then, I've been rifling through a slew of foreign films. Thankfully, I was able to watch the 2012 Academy Award's Best Foreign Language Film winner, A Separation. A Separation documents the life of an Iranian family whose spouses separate. The story takes place after their separation and problems grow when the husband hires a care taker for his Alzheimer's ridden father.

Looking at the Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin
(Leila Hatami) from the viewpoint of a judge.

In terms of camera work, I thought it was really interesting how the director chose to shoot the movie like a documentary. The filming was a little shaky, but reflective of the more personal feel of the movie, which I really liked. There were also many instances where the audience was put in the perceptive of another character in the film. I thought this was really cool because it ingrained our position as almost characters in the film. Furthering this sentiment was the apparent lack of landscape/establishing shots. We saw the city of Tehran, Iran, but generally only through medium shots. This directorial choice was very good because it kept the audience from being ostracized from the characters in the film. I find that one of my biggest struggles as a budding watcher of foreign films is that I am unable to relate to the story playing on the screen. With the camera work and choices of the director of A Separation, I was easily led through the story he wished to tell, which was great.

Simin being overshadowed by Nader. 

A key scene that I really thought was interesting is when the spouses meet again after being separated for about a week. This scene was really cool because it gave a lot of insight on the power struggle between the two of them through framing. We see this immediately upon realizing that none of the scenes of them are shot together. It is always either the wife in the frame or the husband in the frame, adding to their separation. But we see their power struggle really play out when the scene cuts from the husband to the wife. The husband is always completely alone in his shot, while the wife's shot is usually slightly obstructed by her husband's silhouette. I thought this was reflective of the power struggle in their relationship, that no matter what she did, he would always have a say in her life.



Overall, I really liked the film. I went into it kind of nervous that I would be bored by it based on the plot, but it was actually really great. The casting was superb and I'm really looking forward to further my journey into the world of foreign films.

I give A Separation a 5/5.