A Separation

2011 Iranian drama

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Complications arise following the titular separation between a husband and wife after the former hires a caretaker for his father.

This is a quietly Rashomon-esque drama that requires the viewer to make judgments about these characters and their actions when he or she, like most of the characters, don't have all the information at their disposal. This is a movie with no obvious villains, just a difference of opinion that leads to a life-changing decision that is the opposite of a problem's solution it's supposed to be that leads to dishonesty and mistrust. And there's a game of foosball in there somewhere. From the moment the action picks up--a moment when a character has to decide between following religious doctrine and helping a human being who is suffering--A Separation just gets gnarlier and gnarlier. Seems crazy to ask a question like "Is it a sin to help a man who is suffering?" but when evangelical Christians are supporting the serial rapist in the White House, I guess that sort of thing shouldn't surprise me.