By M
I have severe memory troubles. I can’t remember where or when I watched this movie. It’s worse than that: I can recall me watching this movie at home in Paris, which is positively impossible since it came out after I left. Luckily, my memory troubles don’t affect at all my recollection of movies.
I like everything about this movie. All of it, from the introductory credits to the closing credits. N went to watch it yesterday, and I should have recorded our excited comments when she got back.
Through the interlinked story of two families, Farhadi draws a fierce portrait of Iranian society. It all starts with a loving couple who asks for a divorce, while showing deep respect for each other. Yet, their relationship can’t continue because they don’t want the same future: He wants to stay in Iran and take care of his ancient father. She wants to leave with their daughter, so that she has a “better future”. The adjudicator asks “you don’t think she can have a good future in Iran?”. The mother remains silent.
The daughter spends her time trying to make them get back together. At first you assume it is because she doesn’t want to grow up, but soon enough you understand that she is the only adult around. She is helping out, because surrendering love to a war of egos is outrageous. She helps them as much as she can and lets them fail.
You can feel the pain of both of them, so much love and the words missing. “After 14 years he didn’t stop me from leaving”, the mother tells her ancient father-in-law who can’t understand what she says. “Can you believe that? After 14 years” and a tear falls.
The story gets much more complicated, it becomes a story about trust and all the variables that stop it, from prejudices to the will to protect.
The second family is a working class family. The lady is pregnant, the husband is in trouble. He recently exited prison, not that he did anything particularly wrong, but unfortunate circumstances are common, especially among the working class. She loses her baby, and accuses the husband of the first family, for whom she was working (bear with me), to have pushed her down the stairs.
I am not going to spoil it, but you don’t know whether he did it or not, even though you saw everything. He first explains he didn’t know she was pregnant. But he knew. You know he is a great guy, but great people can do stupid things under pressure. And he was under pressure, his wife was leaving him, and he got home to find his dad handcuffed. You know the pregnant lady is a great lady, but why did she handcuffed the grandfather? She was under pressure too. And she thought it would protect him from falling from the bed.
Farhadi keeps surprising you scene after scene, his choices make you empathise so deeply with all the characters that you can only suffer their frustrations, and regret that despite doing the best choices most of the time, life is so tough.
All the actors are brilliant. The two little girls deserve a special mention and particularly Sarina Farhadi, the director’s daughter.
The images and music are beautiful. Just a couple of words about the last scene, when each of the members of the main couple is sitting on each side of the screen, and you see the final outcome: a separation.
This is a fantastic movie.
cucurbitacee 