Divorce is a tough topic, particularly in Muslim societies. A new Iranian film, Nader and Simin- A Separation, is a stunning portrait of family stress, misunderstanding, and the ways people make their difficult lives even more complicated. I heard of the film after it won the "Golden Bear" for Best Film at the Berlinale International Film Festival, but it was also garnered a series of awards at other festivals (the trailer with English subtitles is available here).
The strife between a woman, Simin, and her husband, Nader, over her desire to move overseas and his refusal to leave his father behind sets in motion a chain of events in which a woman who comes to care for the invalid father is injured and accuses her employer, Nader, of causing her miscarriage. The two families are embroiled in a drama of falsehoods and questions of honor, set against a backdrop of religious convictions and desperate living conditions. When all is said and done, the personal heartbreak of a child torn between two parents remains the most poignant aspect of the story. The characters were so realistic that after watching the movie, you may have to remind yourself, as I did, that they are merely fictional. I found myself worrying about them long after the film was over.
The strife between a woman, Simin, and her husband, Nader, over her desire to move overseas and his refusal to leave his father behind sets in motion a chain of events in which a woman who comes to care for the invalid father is injured and accuses her employer, Nader, of causing her miscarriage. The two families are embroiled in a drama of falsehoods and questions of honor, set against a backdrop of religious convictions and desperate living conditions. When all is said and done, the personal heartbreak of a child torn between two parents remains the most poignant aspect of the story. The characters were so realistic that after watching the movie, you may have to remind yourself, as I did, that they are merely fictional. I found myself worrying about them long after the film was over.
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